The Germany women have kept their dream of qualifying for next summer's Olympics alive. Despite being held to a 0-0 draw in Swansea by Wales, interim head coach Horst Hrubesch's side managed to finish top of their Nations League group – in part, because Denmark fell to a 1-0 home defeat against Iceland.
"First and foremost, I'm glad that we've qualified," said Hrubesch. "We allowed them to take control of the game and spent nearly the entire first half just chasing after them."
In a pot with Spain, France and the Netherlands
The four group winners will now take part in a single-legged semi-final clash between 23rd and 28th February 2024. The draw for the next round will take place on 11th December (13:00 CET, live on uefa.com) at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland. In addition to current World champions Spain, Germany could also be drawn against France or the Netherlands. With Olympic hosts France still in the mix, both teams that make the Nations League final will successfully qualify for the Olympics. Should France take part in the final, then the winner of the third-place match would qualify in their place.
Against Wales, Hrubesch went with usual first-choice goalkeeper Merle Frohms, behind a backline of Paulina Krumbiegel on the right, Sara Doorsoun and Kathrin Hendrich at centre-back and Sarai Linder on the left. Elisa Senß made her first start for Germany in midfield, alongside Sjoeke Nüsken. Jule Brand and Klara Bühl lined up in attacking midfield, with Svenja Huth and Alexandra Popp forming a two-pronged attack.
Wales hit the woodwork early on
The hosts attacked early on, preventing Germany from building up play in attack. The first chance of the night also belonged to Wales, as Sophie Ingle put at header straight at Frohms from a corner (8'). Hrubesch's side were marked closely in the final third, and were unable to create many chances for themselves. Germany were fortunate that Rachel Rowe's shot from 16 metres out crashed off the bar and out, after having come off Frohms' shoulder.
Wales' aggressive high press caused plenty of problems for Germany in midfield. Huth was able to play a steep pass through to Brand in the 21st minute, but she wasn't able to get off a shot. The team's first shot on goal came six minutes later, from Nüsken. Germany's next attacks all failed to pose a real threat on goal, before Linder attempted a shot from range (41'). The two teams headed into the break still deadlocked.
No breakthrough either side
Hrubesch brought on Giulia Gwinn and Linda Dallmann for Krumbiegel and Huth. The second half continued much in the same way as the first, with Germany struggling to find gaps to exploit against a solid Wales defence. The visitors nearly took the lead in the 55th minute, but Senß' deflected shot was parried by goalkeeper Olivia Clark.
The head coach brought on another pair of fresh legs in the 70th minute, with Nicole Anyomi replacing Brand. Despite her introduction, Germany's attack still lacked precision and failed to create chances for themselves in and around the box. Dallmann's attempt from range was easily stopped by Clark (79'). Lena Lattwein and Lena Petermann came on in the closing stages for Hendrich and Nüsken (81'), but were unable to break the deadlock. Bühl came close in injury time, after getting off a shot from a short corner, but also missed the target (90'+2).
With the point, Germany finished in top spot in their Nations League group on 13 points, one ahead of Denmark (12). Rounding off Group 3 were Iceland (3rd, 9 points) and Wales (4th, 1 point).
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The Germany women have kept their dream of qualifying for next summer's Olympics alive. Despite being held to a 0-0 draw in Swansea by Wales, interim head coach Horst Hrubesch's side managed to finish top of their Nations League group – in part, because Denmark fell to a 1-0 home defeat against Iceland.
"First and foremost, I'm glad that we've qualified," said Hrubesch. "We allowed them to take control of the game and spent nearly the entire first half just chasing after them."
In a pot with Spain, France and the Netherlands
The four group winners will now take part in a single-legged semi-final clash between 23rd and 28th February 2024. The draw for the next round will take place on 11th December (13:00 CET, live on uefa.com) at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland. In addition to current World champions Spain, Germany could also be drawn against France or the Netherlands. With Olympic hosts France still in the mix, both teams that make the Nations League final will successfully qualify for the Olympics. Should France take part in the final, then the winner of the third-place match would qualify in their place.
Against Wales, Hrubesch went with usual first-choice goalkeeper Merle Frohms, behind a backline of Paulina Krumbiegel on the right, Sara Doorsoun and Kathrin Hendrich at centre-back and Sarai Linder on the left. Elisa Senß made her first start for Germany in midfield, alongside Sjoeke Nüsken. Jule Brand and Klara Bühl lined up in attacking midfield, with Svenja Huth and Alexandra Popp forming a two-pronged attack.
Wales hit the woodwork early on
The hosts attacked early on, preventing Germany from building up play in attack. The first chance of the night also belonged to Wales, as Sophie Ingle put at header straight at Frohms from a corner (8'). Hrubesch's side were marked closely in the final third, and were unable to create many chances for themselves. Germany were fortunate that Rachel Rowe's shot from 16 metres out crashed off the bar and out, after having come off Frohms' shoulder.
Wales' aggressive high press caused plenty of problems for Germany in midfield. Huth was able to play a steep pass through to Brand in the 21st minute, but she wasn't able to get off a shot. The team's first shot on goal came six minutes later, from Nüsken. Germany's next attacks all failed to pose a real threat on goal, before Linder attempted a shot from range (41'). The two teams headed into the break still deadlocked.
No breakthrough either side
Hrubesch brought on Giulia Gwinn and Linda Dallmann for Krumbiegel and Huth. The second half continued much in the same way as the first, with Germany struggling to find gaps to exploit against a solid Wales defence. The visitors nearly took the lead in the 55th minute, but Senß' deflected shot was parried by goalkeeper Olivia Clark.
The head coach brought on another pair of fresh legs in the 70th minute, with Nicole Anyomi replacing Brand. Despite her introduction, Germany's attack still lacked precision and failed to create chances for themselves in and around the box. Dallmann's attempt from range was easily stopped by Clark (79'). Lena Lattwein and Lena Petermann came on in the closing stages for Hendrich and Nüsken (81'), but were unable to break the deadlock. Bühl came close in injury time, after getting off a shot from a short corner, but also missed the target (90'+2).
With the point, Germany finished in top spot in their Nations League group on 13 points, one ahead of Denmark (12). Rounding off Group 3 were Iceland (3rd, 9 points) and Wales (4th, 1 point).
