On Thursday (16:00 CEST), the DFB women face Russia in Wiesbaden in European Championship qualification. Three days later, and they have their second match against Turkey in Sandhausen. They have started their campaign with two wins in two matches. Annike Krahn is one of the most experienced players in the side, and the 30-year-old defender sat down with DFB ahead of the matches.
DFB.de: Annike Krahn, there are a few new faces in the national side. Do you know all the names yet?
Krahn: That’s not a problem for me (laughs), as I’ve always been very good at matching names with faces. And I know the players well from the Bundesliga anyway.
DFB.de: Jokes aside, how difficult is it for a team to continually adjust to new players?
Krahn: It is of course easier if a team is already used to each other. It is though a nice challenge to have to readjust to new teammates and tactics. I think it’s positive that we have new players, who all of the chance to prove themselves. They have all proven themselves in the Bundesliga, and they all deserve to be here.
DFB.de: Your start in EURO qualification is perfect – two out of two. But you weren’t completely satisfied…
Krahn: Of course having six points on the board is very good. But we weren’t satisfied with the performance against Croatia. We have worked on things we needed to improve. We have learned our lessons, and will improve in the next matches.
Is it difficult to fully concentrate if you have just beaten a team so convincingly, for example the 12-0 against Hungary?
Krahn: We did find it difficult last time. It’s a similar sort of setup to the World Cup, so it shouldn’t be a problem for us. And we showed that we can do it a lot better.
DFB.de: Russia are your toughest opponents in European qualification. But the 9-0 in World Cup qualification a couple of years ago is still in the memory. Does this result still play a role?
Krahn: Not at all. That was two years ago, the Russian team has developed a lot since then. It is their first qualification match, so they will be determined to start well. It’s also true that every team relishes playing Germany.
DFB.de: What are your expectations?
Krahn: We want to have two successful matches after the match against Croatia. We want to perform well as a team for the entirety of both games.
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On Thursday (16:00 CEST), the DFB women face Russia in Wiesbaden in European Championship qualification. Three days later, and they have their second match against Turkey in Sandhausen. They have started their campaign with two wins in two matches. Annike Krahn is one of the most experienced players in the side, and the 30-year-old defender sat down with DFB ahead of the matches.
DFB.de: Annike Krahn, there are a few new faces in the national side. Do you know all the names yet?
Krahn: That’s not a problem for me (laughs), as I’ve always been very good at matching names with faces. And I know the players well from the Bundesliga anyway.
DFB.de: Jokes aside, how difficult is it for a team to continually adjust to new players?
Krahn: It is of course easier if a team is already used to each other. It is though a nice challenge to have to readjust to new teammates and tactics. I think it’s positive that we have new players, who all of the chance to prove themselves. They have all proven themselves in the Bundesliga, and they all deserve to be here.
DFB.de: Your start in EURO qualification is perfect – two out of two. But you weren’t completely satisfied…
Krahn: Of course having six points on the board is very good. But we weren’t satisfied with the performance against Croatia. We have worked on things we needed to improve. We have learned our lessons, and will improve in the next matches.
Is it difficult to fully concentrate if you have just beaten a team so convincingly, for example the 12-0 against Hungary?
Krahn: We did find it difficult last time. It’s a similar sort of setup to the World Cup, so it shouldn’t be a problem for us. And we showed that we can do it a lot better.
DFB.de: Russia are your toughest opponents in European qualification. But the 9-0 in World Cup qualification a couple of years ago is still in the memory. Does this result still play a role?
Krahn: Not at all. That was two years ago, the Russian team has developed a lot since then. It is their first qualification match, so they will be determined to start well. It’s also true that every team relishes playing Germany.
DFB.de: What are your expectations?
Krahn: We want to have two successful matches after the match against Croatia. We want to perform well as a team for the entirety of both games.
