Weeks of preparation came to an end last night as the Germany Women's team began their European Championship campaign with a 0-0 draw against Sweden. Head coach Steffi Jones said that it gave her side "something to build on".
For Anna Blässe and Kristin Demann, as well as for Jones, it was their first taste of major tournament football. Blässe was making her 19th appearance for Germany and operated from the right wing, while Demann, who was playing in her 11th international, was used in holding midfield for the defending champions. Both ladies gave convincing performances.
Having slept on the performance, Anna Blässe and Kristin Demann have given their thoughts on the EURO opener and have looked ahead to the coming battles in Group B: on Friday (20:45 CEST) against Italy and next Tuesday (20:45 CEST) versus Russia.
KRISTIN DEMANN ON...
... THE VALUE OF THE 0-0 DRAW: We know that we have room for improvement and haven't reached our limit yet.
... THE HEADLINE "SLOW START": I find that too negative. We were playing against Sweden - an experienced and strong team, who we faced in the final of the Olympics. For me it was a successful opener with room for improvement.
... THE PRESSURE OF HAVING TO WIN AGAINST ITALY: It's up to us to win the game. Therefore, we're not under any more pressure than we were before. Sweden also need to win their match. I'm confident that against Italy and Russia we'll be more clinical in attack and score some goals.
... STARTING IN THE LAST MATCH: It was obviously really pleasing that Steffi and the coaching team showed faith in me. I tried to allow the players in front of me to get forward.
... THE NUMBER SIX POSITION: I've played there many times before. At my club I'm used either in defence or in holding midfield. I'm quite flexible. It also depends on the opponent. I don't have a favourite position.
Weeks of preparation came to an end last night as the Germany Women's team began their European Championship campaign with a 0-0 draw against Sweden. Head coach Steffi Jones said that it gave her side "something to build on".
For Anna Blässe and Kristin Demann, as well as for Jones, it was their first taste of major tournament football. Blässe was making her 19th appearance for Germany and operated from the right wing, while Demann, who was playing in her 11th international, was used in holding midfield for the defending champions. Both ladies gave convincing performances.
Having slept on the performance, Anna Blässe and Kristin Demann have given their thoughts on the EURO opener and have looked ahead to the coming battles in Group B: on Friday (20:45 CEST) against Italy and next Tuesday (20:45 CEST) versus Russia.
KRISTIN DEMANN ON...
... THE VALUE OF THE 0-0 DRAW: We know that we have room for improvement and haven't reached our limit yet.
... THE HEADLINE "SLOW START": I find that too negative. We were playing against Sweden - an experienced and strong team, who we faced in the final of the Olympics. For me it was a successful opener with room for improvement.
... THE PRESSURE OF HAVING TO WIN AGAINST ITALY: It's up to us to win the game. Therefore, we're not under any more pressure than we were before. Sweden also need to win their match. I'm confident that against Italy and Russia we'll be more clinical in attack and score some goals.
... STARTING IN THE LAST MATCH: It was obviously really pleasing that Steffi and the coaching team showed faith in me. I tried to allow the players in front of me to get forward.
... THE NUMBER SIX POSITION: I've played there many times before. At my club I'm used either in defence or in holding midfield. I'm quite flexible. It also depends on the opponent. I don't have a favourite position.
... YOUR FOOTBALLING ROLE-MODEL: I like watching Toni Kroos as he has a great passing game and always appears calm.
... YOUR PLAYING STYLE: The Footbonaut has had a positive effect on my playing style. It's there that you gain the security that you need in your passing game. It's good for training.
... YOUR SWITCH TO BAYERN MÜNCHEN: I want to play in Europe, in the Champions League and fight for titles. It was a decision to take the next step.
ANNA BLÄSSE ON...
... THE VALUE OF THE 0-0 DRAW: We didn't lose and we got better in the second half. I'll take the positives from that. In my opinion we played a good first game and are now properly into the tournament.
... NERVOUSNESS AHEAD OF A EURO DEBUT: There's always a few butterflies when you've never played at such a big tournament before, but once I was into my warm-up they went away and I was in the zone.
... THE LATE KICK-OFF TIME: The late kick-off time affects your preparation. Mainly because you need to conserve your energy and make sure you don't use it all up during the day. I thought that we were prepared as well as we could have been for the game.
... RECOVERY AFTER THE GAME: The night was quite short. It's not that easy to sleep after that sort of game. This morning we had a recovery session and are free from this afternoon onwards. You try to recover fully and keep your head clear. But it depends on the player.
