DFB.de: You trained at the stadium in Örebro for the first time on Monday evening. What were your impressions?
Leupolz: I think that it’s a very nice stadium. The pitch is in good condition and if there’s a lot of fans, then there’ll be a good atmosphere.
DFB.de: How do you assess Sweden?
Leupolz: They’re a very tough opponent. They have a lot of good players but they also play well as a team. They’re always dangerous going forward and are very quick. Sweden are a world class side.
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On Wednesday (18:00 CEST), the Germany women’s national team face Sweden in Örebro. After a 2-0 home loss to France, Silvia Neid’s team now come up against another world class opposition.
The loss to France has been analysed and worked on, with the focus now on the game against the same opponents that they faced in the semi-finals of the 2013 European Championships. In an interview with DFB.de, Melanie Leupolz spoke about being awarded “player of the match”, the analysis of the France game and their next opponents Sweden.
DFB.de: You were voted “player of the match” by the national team fan club against France. Unfortunately, things didn’t go particularly well for the team during the game so can you be happy with the award?
Melanie Leupolz: Yes, definitely. It would have been nicer if we’d won and put in a good team performance. But for me personally, it’s a great reward and I’m very happy that the fans voted for me.
DFB.de: Over the last few days you’ve been analysing the game and worked on it. What were the reasons for the streaky performance against France?
Leupolz: We lacked movement and no one really wanted to have the ball. There were also individual mistakes and of course it was tough. Against a strong team such as France, you are always put under pressure by your opponents and therefore we couldn’t really get into the game.
DFB.de: What can you take from the game into your game against Sweden?
Leupolz: Every player knows what they did wrong. If every one of us does those things better against Sweden then it’ll help the team. We want to create more openings, get forward quicker and overall just player better than we did against France.
DFB.de: You trained at the stadium in Örebro for the first time on Monday evening. What were your impressions?
Leupolz: I think that it’s a very nice stadium. The pitch is in good condition and if there’s a lot of fans, then there’ll be a good atmosphere.
DFB.de: How do you assess Sweden?
Leupolz: They’re a very tough opponent. They have a lot of good players but they also play well as a team. They’re always dangerous going forward and are very quick. Sweden are a world class side.