On Friday, the DFB Women U19s play their second group game of the European championship in Slovakia. At 18:00 CEST, manager Maren Meinert’s side face Switzerland in Senica. Following the 1-0 defeat to Spain in their opening fixture, captain Michaela Specht wants her team to record its first victory and take a step closer to the semi-final. In an interview with DFB.de, the 19-year-old former TSG Hoffenheim player talks about the team spirit and previews the upcoming game against Switzerland.
DFB.de: Michaela Specht, what did you make of the first group game?
Michaela Specht: We played well, especially in the first half. It was an open game; both teams had their chances. But in the end we lacked the power, which is why I would say Spain deserved to win. Still, the defeat is obviously disappointing.
DFB.de: What can you take from the game against Spain and bring into the next fixture?
Specht: The game definitely showed that we are capable of playing at that high level. But we need to stay a bit calmer in front of goal and not lose composure. We know we can score goals.
DFB.de: How are you preparing for the next game?
Specht: After the game, it was all about recuperating at first. In the evening after the Spain game we had an ice bath. In the build up to the next game we have a number of training sessions lined up, of course, but also team meetings and discussions as well as video analyses.
DFB.de: What’s the atmosphere like within the team?
On Friday, the DFB Women U19s play their second group game of the European championship in Slovakia. At 18:00 CEST, manager Maren Meinert’s side face Switzerland in Senica. Following the 1-0 defeat to Spain in their opening fixture, captain Michaela Specht wants her team to record its first victory and take a step closer to the semi-final. In an interview with DFB.de, the 19-year-old former TSG Hoffenheim player talks about the team spirit and previews the upcoming game against Switzerland.
DFB.de: Michaela Specht, what did you make of the first group game?
Michaela Specht: We played well, especially in the first half. It was an open game; both teams had their chances. But in the end we lacked the power, which is why I would say Spain deserved to win. Still, the defeat is obviously disappointing.
DFB.de: What can you take from the game against Spain and bring into the next fixture?
Specht: The game definitely showed that we are capable of playing at that high level. But we need to stay a bit calmer in front of goal and not lose composure. We know we can score goals.
DFB.de: How are you preparing for the next game?
Specht: After the game, it was all about recuperating at first. In the evening after the Spain game we had an ice bath. In the build up to the next game we have a number of training sessions lined up, of course, but also team meetings and discussions as well as video analyses.
DFB.de: What’s the atmosphere like within the team?
Specht: Obviously we were sad to lose the opening game by a fine margin. But I think the experience on the whole brought us closer together as a team. We know where we need to improve and we’re working on that together. The unity here is great. We are a proper team and get along both on and off the pitch.
DFB.de: What do you make of Switzerland?
Specht: The Swiss team have a lot of strong players and a good team philosophy. Switzerland won their opening game 4-0 against Austria and currently lead our group. We will invest everything to win the game; we will play to the very best of our abilities. We have good attacking players and are compact at the back.
