Football – The DFB women dream of their ninth European Championship title

When Christian Wück stood before his debut as national coach of the German women’s national team at Wembley, a motto from his first video link remained in his memory: “Everything remains different!” The 51-year-old made it clear that he was still popular when it came to managing people predecessor Horst Hrubesch, but pursued different ideas when it comes to playing philosophy: “A lot will stay the same, but a lot will also change.” The new era for the DFB women started with a triumph against European champions England (4:3) was also furious when the new approach took effect straight away.

In fact, the German footballers finally had something tangible in their hands at the Olympic Games with the bronze medal because their attitude, fighting spirit and discipline were right – and goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger was outstanding. The 34-year-old, who plays in the USA, won the award as Germany’s Footballer of the Year for the first time. But there were a few things wrong in terms of play.

No goals were scored from the game against Canada in the quarter-finals (4-2 on penalties) and in the semi-final defeat against the USA (0-1 after extra time). That’s why sports director Nia Künzer said after the game for third place against Spain (1-0): “Very few people would have expected us to perform like this a few months ago. But we also know that further development steps are needed in order to establish ourselves permanently at the top international level.«

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Laura Freigang, who is currently the best shooter in the Bundesliga at Eintracht Frankfurt with eleven goals, said at the turn of the year: “At the Olympics it was more like combat football. Now we want to have the ball and let it run. We want to play a lot, I enjoy it.” It’s not just the 26-year-old who is benefiting from the new momentum. The new head coach had taken into account the fact that the first international matches under former U17 national coach Wück also featured changeable presentations, such as in the defeats against Australia and Italy. For the European Championships 2025, which will take place from July 2nd to 27th in Switzerland, the native of Lower Franconia would like to choose from 30 to 40 players; Talents such as 20-year-old Cora Zicai from SC Freiburg and 18-year-old Alara Şehitler from FC Bayern were also able to get a taste of the senior national team.

Already in the European Championship group games against Poland in St. Gallen (July 4th), against Denmark in Basel (July 8th) and against Sweden in Zurich (July 12th), the dream of a ninth European Championship title is inevitably at play. Three years ago the team unfortunately failed in the final against hosts England (1:2 nV), but the disappointment was limited because the ensemble radiated so much enthusiasm. Wück does not (yet) want to clearly formulate winning the European Championship as a goal. For him, it’s first about the conviction, which he definitely has, because: “We have enough individual quality in the team.” Sports director Künzer expressed himself similarly: “With our potential, we of course have the ambition to assert ourselves in this group .« Knowing full well that a top opponent will then be waiting in the form of France, England or the Netherlands.

It is therefore important that the ensemble, which is in transition – with Merle Frohms, Marina Hegering and long-time captain Alexandra Popp, three top performers have resigned from VfL Wolfsburg – develops a certain level of resilience. In addition, Wück will try out significantly less with the start of the Nations League in February. The national coach wants to “lay the foundation” in the duels against the Netherlands, Austria and Scotland.

Everything indicates that Giulia Gwinn from FC Bayern will keep the captain’s armband in the European Championship year. »She does very well on the pitch and is very reliable. “She is also an absolute leader off the pitch and takes responsibility,” said Wück, praising his full-back over the holidays. At the start of the Nations League on February 21st in Holland, they want to “deepen the automatisms and let the core work in.” The record in 2024 of eleven wins, one draw and six defeats suggests that there is an urgent need for more consistency in 2025. Wück’s motto can mean exactly that.