At the end of the German soccer players’ first training session, when there was a goal-scoring practice, the ball striking the crossbar and post was noticeable. It was up to Sara Doorsoun to drive the ball unstoppably into the corner under the loud cheers of her teammates on Monday evening at the VfB Stuttgart training ground. At 33, the oldest player in the squad showed how things can go in the DFB women’s international matches on Friday in Switzerland and on Monday against Italy in Bochum.
National coach Christian Wück proclaimed the principle of rejuvenation for this double pack. The motto: “We want to give the younger players the chance.” The 23-man squad includes 14 players who are no older than 25, only three are 30 or older.
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We have to get away from the thinking that the coming generations “cannot win games or are not decisive in games,” asserts talent promoter Wück. “It’s not a contradiction to want to win both games with a younger team.” The newly formed U23s recently beat France 3-0 on the DFB campus.
After Merle Frohms (29 years old) resigned and the recently very stressed Ann-Katrin Berger (34) was allowed to stay in the USA, a younger goalkeeper is supposed to prove herself internationally: Ena Mahmutovic (20) or Sophia Winkler (21) are set to make their international debut in the German goal.
Wück’s debut against England (4:3) and Australia (1:2) showed that the risk of setbacks plays a role in such a process. Lisanne Gräwe (21) was clearly nervous when saying goodbye to DFB captain Alexandra Popp in Duisburg, but the midfielder has generally developed into a top performer at Eintracht Frankfurt.
The national coach is envisioning a pool of 30 to 40 players for the final round of the European Championship in Switzerland (July 2 to 27, 2025), “we are still a long way from that.” The goal is “to go into the Nations League with a well-structured team and to prepare for the European Championship next year,” announced Wück.
The tasks in the first half of 2025 against the Netherlands, Austria and Scotland will then be considered competitive games again. This time Wück didn’t even nominate experienced players like Sara Däbritz (29) or Lina Magull (30) – top performers at the 2022 European Championship – but instead invited Cora Zicai (19) from SC Freiburg and Alara Şehitler (18) from FC Bayern for the first time. Both are considered top talents.
“They are showing in the Bundesliga that they are capable of playing well despite their young age,” said the national coach, praising the two young talents. The tricky Şehitler in particular can create moments of surprise at any time: with three goals in her first 14 competitive games in the Munich star ensemble, Şehitler already caused a stir under Wück’s eyes. Why not in the national team too?
As the successful national coach of the U17 juniors, the 51-year-old constantly preached that the German talents should be given more playing time. His coaching team includes Maren Meinert, a trainer who has made a name for herself as a successful young trainer and has excellent knowledge of the junior women’s field.
“We have to start with the learning factor at some point,” says Wück, who also noticed during his numerous inspection tours that there are glaring gaps in German women’s football, for example in defense. “We don’t have the wealth of talent on defense.” That’s why the national coach continues to trust Kathrin Hendrich (32) and is also relying on Sara Doorsoun, who referred to herself as “grandma” with a wink at the 2023 World Cup.