Germany got their SheBelieves Cup campaign up and running with a 1-0 victory over France and they return to action on Sunday against England (23:45 CET). The Three Lionesses played the USA in their opening game and lost 1-0.
Almuth Schult put in a great performance between the sticks for the DFB-Team against France and is looking to repeat the feat tomorrow night. DFB.de spoke to her ahead of the game about the opening fixture, the upcoming game against England and her role in the national team since Nadine Angerer’s retirement.
DFB.de: Ms. Schmidt, you kept a clean sheet and made some stunning saves against France – are you happy with how the tournament has started?
Almuth Schult: My teammates made it easy for me to be honest – they worked hard and made it hard for France to get shots off, which is no mean feat because they’re one of the best sides in the world. When they had chances, I was able to keep them out, thankfully.
DFB.de: Could it have gone any better for you?
Schult: I think that we can be happy with our start but we know that there is still work to be done. We tried a few new things against France and they came off, which is great. We didn’t want to let them stamp their authority on the game so we defended tightly and soaked up the pressure. The game taught us that the French struggle against sides who defend deeply.
DFB.de: On Sunday you face England. What are your thoughts going into the game?
Schult: The development of their team, but also the domestic league, has been very impressive in recent years. They are combative, never give up and are tactically astute. The game against the USA showed just how good they are.
DFB.de:What are your aims for the game?
Schult: They beat us 1-0 in the World Cup play-off and we played out a goalless draw in Duisburg recently, so we want to hit the back of the net against them again. We created some good chances in both games but failed to make the most of them, so our aim is to rectify that on Sunday. Additionally, we want to build on the way we performed against France.
DFB.de: How do you see your role in the team now that Nadine Angerer has retired?
Schult: I’ve had to take on more responsibility and obviously I’m now playing a more important role in the team. I enjoy the new situation I find myself in and am having a lot of fun out there. It’s great to line up alongside excellent players. We want to work hard now and then perform well during the Olympic Games in Rio.
DFB.de: You’ve represented the side since 2010 but were second choice when the World Cup was held in Germany. What are your memories of the tournament?
Schult: At that point I was just happy to be in the squad because I was quite young and it was good to learn things from Nadine. We had a great relationship and she taught me a lot. Obviously, it would have been nice to have picked up more caps over the course of the last few years, but Natze was definitely the first choice.
DFB.de: Do you feel under a lot of pressure because you are following in her footsteps?
Schult: I’ve always been under pressure due to the fact that there are so many good goalkeepers in Germany. Nadine has set an impressive benchmark, but Silke Rottenberg did that before her too. I don’t think young players should focus too much on their predecessors – it’s important to go about things your own way.
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Germany got their SheBelieves Cup campaign up and running with a 1-0 victory over France and they return to action on Sunday against England (23:45 CET). The Three Lionesses played the USA in their opening game and lost 1-0.
Almuth Schult put in a great performance between the sticks for the DFB-Team against France and is looking to repeat the feat tomorrow night. DFB.de spoke to her ahead of the game about the opening fixture, the upcoming game against England and her role in the national team since Nadine Angerer’s retirement.
DFB.de: Ms. Schmidt, you kept a clean sheet and made some stunning saves against France – are you happy with how the tournament has started?
Almuth Schult: My teammates made it easy for me to be honest – they worked hard and made it hard for France to get shots off, which is no mean feat because they’re one of the best sides in the world. When they had chances, I was able to keep them out, thankfully.
DFB.de: Could it have gone any better for you?
Schult: I think that we can be happy with our start but we know that there is still work to be done. We tried a few new things against France and they came off, which is great. We didn’t want to let them stamp their authority on the game so we defended tightly and soaked up the pressure. The game taught us that the French struggle against sides who defend deeply.
DFB.de: On Sunday you face England. What are your thoughts going into the game?
Schult: The development of their team, but also the domestic league, has been very impressive in recent years. They are combative, never give up and are tactically astute. The game against the USA showed just how good they are.
DFB.de:What are your aims for the game?
Schult: They beat us 1-0 in the World Cup play-off and we played out a goalless draw in Duisburg recently, so we want to hit the back of the net against them again. We created some good chances in both games but failed to make the most of them, so our aim is to rectify that on Sunday. Additionally, we want to build on the way we performed against France.
DFB.de: How do you see your role in the team now that Nadine Angerer has retired?
Schult: I’ve had to take on more responsibility and obviously I’m now playing a more important role in the team. I enjoy the new situation I find myself in and am having a lot of fun out there. It’s great to line up alongside excellent players. We want to work hard now and then perform well during the Olympic Games in Rio.
DFB.de: You’ve represented the side since 2010 but were second choice when the World Cup was held in Germany. What are your memories of the tournament?
Schult: At that point I was just happy to be in the squad because I was quite young and it was good to learn things from Nadine. We had a great relationship and she taught me a lot. Obviously, it would have been nice to have picked up more caps over the course of the last few years, but Natze was definitely the first choice.
DFB.de: Do you feel under a lot of pressure because you are following in her footsteps?
Schult: I’ve always been under pressure due to the fact that there are so many good goalkeepers in Germany. Nadine has set an impressive benchmark, but Silke Rottenberg did that before her too. I don’t think young players should focus too much on their predecessors – it’s important to go about things your own way.
