Meinert: That’s hard to judge today. The past has essentially shown that there is a good flow of players to the senior side. Naturally we want to integrate many junior players into the senior side in the future. But first and foremost the players are challenged to continue developing and convince others with constantly good performances. Secondly, it also depends on the position and the personal situation – these normally determine how quickly you can get your chance in the senior side.
DFB.de: The next big tournament is the U20 World Cup in 2016, and Germany are defending champions. How ambitious are you going into the World Cup?
Meinert: Irrespective of being defending champions, we want to give a successful and good presentation of ourselves. The goal is for the players to be able to continue their development. And so a big tournament represents superb possibility.
DFB.de: How are you preparing for the tournament?
Meinert: We are currently working on defining the path and planning in detail. In any case, we want to play in the U20 tournament in La Manga and there will also be extra actions to bring the expanded squad together. We will also use friendlies and special matches in order to specifically prepare for the World Cup.
It came down to a penalty shootout and Germany lost 4-2 to just miss out on the final of the European Championship in Israel. Nevertheless the U19s Women can still reflect positively on the tournament: the team can keep pace with the best in Europe and have also qualified for the U20 World Cup in 2016. In an interview with DFB.de, coach Maren Meinert gives her view on the team’s performance at the tournament. She also speaks about the flow of players to the senior side and further plans.
DFB.de: Mrs Meinert, what was the missing ingredient that prevented progress to the final?
Maren Meinert: When it comes down to a penalty shootout, you need luck and to hold your nerve. The Swedish girls were assured in their penalties and so deserved to go through to the final. I was happy with our play for long periods, especially in the second half when we were on top of the Swedish. After a lag we turned the screw in the game and led 3-2 in the 88th minute, but at the end we lacked a bit of shrewdness. But these sorts of experiences, however bitter, will help these young players learn and develop.
DFB.de: What are your feelings heading back to Germany?
Meinert: It’s an overwhelmingly good feeling. We reached the semi-finals and so qualified for the U20 World Cup next year. That was our main goal. We are one of the four best teams at U19s in Europe. That is a good result, and one that we worked hard for. But there is definitely more to come…
DFB.de: How do you rate your team’s performances when compared to Europe’s elite?
Meinert: We finished first in a very difficult group – the team played to its limit and developed as the tournament went on. But based purely on results there is room for improvement: we won two games but also lost two – every played could see that. There is still a bit extra to find before we are at the absolute pinnacle of our performance. It will be quite important to have the desire to work hard in the future in order to make the next step in development.
DFB.de: Which of your players do you think is capable of making the leap to the senior side the earliest?
Meinert: That’s hard to judge today. The past has essentially shown that there is a good flow of players to the senior side. Naturally we want to integrate many junior players into the senior side in the future. But first and foremost the players are challenged to continue developing and convince others with constantly good performances. Secondly, it also depends on the position and the personal situation – these normally determine how quickly you can get your chance in the senior side.
DFB.de: The next big tournament is the U20 World Cup in 2016, and Germany are defending champions. How ambitious are you going into the World Cup?
Meinert: Irrespective of being defending champions, we want to give a successful and good presentation of ourselves. The goal is for the players to be able to continue their development. And so a big tournament represents superb possibility.
DFB.de: How are you preparing for the tournament?
Meinert: We are currently working on defining the path and planning in detail. In any case, we want to play in the U20 tournament in La Manga and there will also be extra actions to bring the expanded squad together. We will also use friendlies and special matches in order to specifically prepare for the World Cup.
