Preparations for the Women’s World Cup are finally hotting up. Exactly one month before the opening games for hosts Australia and New Zealand, the Germany Women’s national team met on Tuesday for their initial training camp in Herzogenaurach. Key player Alexandra Popp and goalkeeper Ena Mahmutovic spoke with DFB.de about their initial impressions.
Alexandra Popp on…
… the mood in the camp: We still haven't had that many training sessions here yet to judge what the competitive spirit is like. Every single player is here and wants to fly to Australia. No player is certain that they will definitely make it, and if they are then they have an even bigger obligation to give 100%. Basically, the atmosphere here is very good. We all get on well with each other. But we have also seen that it will be good to get into it [competing for places]. This has been the same before everyone tournament and is completely normal. Everyone wants to be on that plane to Australia, and when it heats it is also much more fun.
… expectations before the World Cup: I would like to lift the trophy, and everyone else here also wants that. Obviously, it will not be any easier, a World Cup is a different ballpark to a European Championship, but we possess the quality to achieve that and that’s how we want to approach it. Our first step is to win the group, that is a clear aim for us and then we will see what team we have to take on after that. It is important for us as a team to show our true colours and to play good, passionate football. If I can do my bit to help that, I will be happy.
… training ahead of their international friendly on Saturday: Having all just come back from being on holiday means that it feels like we have a proper pre-season ahead of us in order to be 100% fit for the tournament. We will get on the ball a lot and work on the basics. You can already feel a difference when you haven't had the ball at your feet for a couple of weeks. We want to give it our all in the friendly against Vietnam and win the game. We want to implement the things we have been working on in training during the game. We will speak about what exactly that means in the coming days.
… the Vietnam game as preparation for South Korea: We still don’t know how Vietnam and South Korea play, that’s something that we will analyse a day or two before the game. Our friendly opponents have been picked because they play similarly to the other teams in our group so that we can develop a feel for that. We want to win these games in order to gain a level of self-confidence.
… transitioning in and out of 'holiday mode': It's not really too hard to get into holiday mode. I was happy that the season had finally come to an end, especially after a difficult conclusion to the Champions League final. After my holiday, I was quickly pulled back into every life which was not so cool, but is part of the game. I was not really in such a good playing rhythm at the beginning but after I saw the girls and we shared lots of laughs and then after the first activation session, I felt back at it relatively quickly.
… integrating young players: Our values are that we integrate younger players quickly and take them by the hand so that they feel comfortable quickly and as at home here as we do. We have done that quickly and effectively; and have never had problems doing that. That’s the nice thing about having players come in who want to learn. There is a give and take and it makes it very, very easy.
Ena Mahmutovic on ...
… interacting with more experienced players: At my first training session I was still very nervous and didn't dare to speak to Alex and other experienced players. I spent more time with the younger players. I know everyone already now. You can learn a lot from the more experienced players on the training pitch. But I also know Carlotta Wamser, who is here now, very well and then you also hang out with each other a lot.
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Preparations for the Women’s World Cup are finally hotting up. Exactly one month before the opening games for hosts Australia and New Zealand, the Germany Women’s national team met on Tuesday for their initial training camp in Herzogenaurach. Key player Alexandra Popp and goalkeeper Ena Mahmutovic spoke with DFB.de about their initial impressions.
Alexandra Popp on…
… the mood in the camp: We still haven't had that many training sessions here yet to judge what the competitive spirit is like. Every single player is here and wants to fly to Australia. No player is certain that they will definitely make it, and if they are then they have an even bigger obligation to give 100%. Basically, the atmosphere here is very good. We all get on well with each other. But we have also seen that it will be good to get into it [competing for places]. This has been the same before everyone tournament and is completely normal. Everyone wants to be on that plane to Australia, and when it heats it is also much more fun.
… expectations before the World Cup: I would like to lift the trophy, and everyone else here also wants that. Obviously, it will not be any easier, a World Cup is a different ballpark to a European Championship, but we possess the quality to achieve that and that’s how we want to approach it. Our first step is to win the group, that is a clear aim for us and then we will see what team we have to take on after that. It is important for us as a team to show our true colours and to play good, passionate football. If I can do my bit to help that, I will be happy.
… training ahead of their international friendly on Saturday: Having all just come back from being on holiday means that it feels like we have a proper pre-season ahead of us in order to be 100% fit for the tournament. We will get on the ball a lot and work on the basics. You can already feel a difference when you haven't had the ball at your feet for a couple of weeks. We want to give it our all in the friendly against Vietnam and win the game. We want to implement the things we have been working on in training during the game. We will speak about what exactly that means in the coming days.
… the Vietnam game as preparation for South Korea: We still don’t know how Vietnam and South Korea play, that’s something that we will analyse a day or two before the game. Our friendly opponents have been picked because they play similarly to the other teams in our group so that we can develop a feel for that. We want to win these games in order to gain a level of self-confidence.
… transitioning in and out of 'holiday mode': It's not really too hard to get into holiday mode. I was happy that the season had finally come to an end, especially after a difficult conclusion to the Champions League final. After my holiday, I was quickly pulled back into every life which was not so cool, but is part of the game. I was not really in such a good playing rhythm at the beginning but after I saw the girls and we shared lots of laughs and then after the first activation session, I felt back at it relatively quickly.
… integrating young players: Our values are that we integrate younger players quickly and take them by the hand so that they feel comfortable quickly and as at home here as we do. We have done that quickly and effectively; and have never had problems doing that. That’s the nice thing about having players come in who want to learn. There is a give and take and it makes it very, very easy.
Ena Mahmutovic on ...
… interacting with more experienced players: At my first training session I was still very nervous and didn't dare to speak to Alex and other experienced players. I spent more time with the younger players. I know everyone already now. You can learn a lot from the more experienced players on the training pitch. But I also know Carlotta Wamser, who is here now, very well and then you also hang out with each other a lot.
