In the 54th minute of the Germany U19 ladies’ European Championship opener, Paulina Krumbiegel made herself the heroine of the day after drilling home the match winner from 13 yards. With the first three points in the bag, the DFB midfielder spoke to us about her goal, her team’s readiness to fight and the coming fixtures.
DFB.de: Miss Krumbiegel, first game of the tournament, first goal – that sounds like the perfect start.
Paulina Krumbiegel: Definitely. I speculated about what to do with the ball in the build up to that goal and decided that if it came through I would have to hit it first time. I had a couple of chances before that and after that where I didn’t take it first time, but for the goal that was the only thing on my mind. My whole family was there to see it, which makes it even nicer.
DFB.de: Your goal turned out to be the winner as well. Was it a deserved victory in your opinion?
Krumbiegel: Denmark were physically strong, as we expected. The game on the whole was very balanced – we had a good phase, then they did, so it was going to come down to which team scored first and fought hardest after that. We did that and after the goal we had more control over the game, so I do think it was deserved.
DFB.de: This win has put you in a good position in Group B. How important was this win for the team?
Krumbiegel: The first game of a tournament is always important. This win was very important for our team spirit – even though it was only a narrow victory, not a 3-0. We are looking forward to the next games.
DFB.de: What exactly needs to be improved on in the coming games?
Krumbiegel: The game against Denmark was physical – the attitude was right. We have to aim to be more dominant on the ball: That means we have to find a better way to play out certain situations and make better use of our chances.
[mmc/dw]
In the 54th minute of the Germany U19 ladies’ European Championship opener, Paulina Krumbiegel made herself the heroine of the day after drilling home the match winner from 13 yards. With the first three points in the bag, the DFB midfielder spoke to us about her goal, her team’s readiness to fight and the coming fixtures.
DFB.de: Miss Krumbiegel, first game of the tournament, first goal – that sounds like the perfect start.
Paulina Krumbiegel: Definitely. I speculated about what to do with the ball in the build up to that goal and decided that if it came through I would have to hit it first time. I had a couple of chances before that and after that where I didn’t take it first time, but for the goal that was the only thing on my mind. My whole family was there to see it, which makes it even nicer.
DFB.de: Your goal turned out to be the winner as well. Was it a deserved victory in your opinion?
Krumbiegel: Denmark were physically strong, as we expected. The game on the whole was very balanced – we had a good phase, then they did, so it was going to come down to which team scored first and fought hardest after that. We did that and after the goal we had more control over the game, so I do think it was deserved.
DFB.de: This win has put you in a good position in Group B. How important was this win for the team?
Krumbiegel: The first game of a tournament is always important. This win was very important for our team spirit – even though it was only a narrow victory, not a 3-0. We are looking forward to the next games.
DFB.de: What exactly needs to be improved on in the coming games?
Krumbiegel: The game against Denmark was physical – the attitude was right. We have to aim to be more dominant on the ball: That means we have to find a better way to play out certain situations and make better use of our chances.