The German women’s national soccer team had a hard time in a friendly against Zambia a good two weeks before the World Cup on Friday evening (July 7th, 2023) and ended up losing unhappily. The match at the Ronhof sports park in Fürth ended 2:3 (0:0). In addition, three players were injured.
Barbra Banda gave the guests from southern Africa the lead with a well-placed low shot (49th minute). Racheal Kundananji raised just five minutes later (54′). Lea Schüller scored the first goal (90 +1.). Captain Alexandra Popp equalized (90′ +10), then Zambia went one better through Banda and won (90′ +12).
“We would have liked to have won in front of our home crowd,” said Sara Däbritz on the Sportschau microphone, “we’ll come back and then it looks like we’ll score the third goal. But then we’ll get the counterattack. We have to analyze it now and will be ready for the World Cup.” “It was again this precision issue, the consistency in scoring,” said national coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg relentlessly about the mistakes in her own team, “it’s clear that we have to deal with the criticism now, but we have to keep to ourselves.”
Zambia with a lot of self-confidence
Zambia started confidently and set the first exclamation point of the game with an attack by the lightning-fast Barbra Banda. Her shot from the left went just wide of the right post. The German women didn’t hide from the start, but repeatedly robbed themselves of a constructive play structure with inaccurate passes.
Only when captain Alexandra Popp dropped into midfield from the center of the attack did the DFB team’s attacking efforts become more powerful. A long ball from the right side of Svenja Huth reached Felicitas Rauch at the second post. But the defender didn’t get the ball, which bounced up just before the smoke, on goal (20′).
Five minutes later it was Klara Bühl, who made a good impact on the left, but didn’t get the ball in the middle to the well-positioned Lisa Magull. A powerful shot from Popp just before half-time swept across the box of the Zambian opponents.
Cold shower at the beginning of the second half
Better passing accuracy, more precision afterwards: what Germany planned for the second half of the game, Zambia implemented perfectly. With a double strike, twice as a result of ball losses by the German team in midfield, Zambia gave the hosts neck blows: First, the extremely strong Banda executed from the inside left position in the penalty area, then Kundananji used a “billiard” situation in the penalty area of the German team and pushed in an untenable way keeper Merle Frohms.
Bad luck with five big chances
It took Germany ten minutes to collect themselves. The coach switched to a back three in defense. And then: five top-class chances in quick succession: first Sjoeke Nüsken headed sharply at the Zambian goal, goalkeeper Catherine Musonda deflected the ball with a reflex to the left post (65th), then Sydney Lohmann, who had just come on as a substitute, failed with a side kick just wide Goal.
The next big chance came from Zambia’s Lushomo Mweemba with a deflected cross from Magull, but Musonda saved. And a free-kick due to the Zambian keeper’s time wasted by Carolin Simon on the crossbar. Then a sharp free kick from Magull fell too late and dripped onto the gate roof. Zambia was very lucky at this stage.
When the fourth official on the edge of the field held up the board with ten minutes of overtime, the goal came: Schüller converted a corner kick from the right with a powerful header. After that, the DFB team pressed and equalized. But it was Zambia who sealed the deal on a counterattack by fast Banda.
Zambia surprisingly good touchstone
Zambia acted attentively and was more than a good touchstone for the Voss-Tecklenburg team in the duels. A good two weeks before the start of the World Cup (July 20) in Australia and New Zealand, the Africans showed exactly where the weak points in the German team were: the running paths are not yet automated and there was a lack of understanding and precision in the structure of the game. In the end, given the great opportunities, there was also a lack of luck in the game.
Three injured players
Also annoying: With Marina Hegering, Lena Oberdorf and Carolin Simon, Voss-Tecklenburg reported three injured players, a “worst-case scenario”. You have to “listen quietly to what’s going on”. Hegering “got a stud on his heel,” the trainer reported later at the press conference, and Simon “punched his knee during the action.”
And Oberdorf was seen with his right thigh bandaged. Precise diagnoses should follow this Saturday. It is clear, however, that one has to resort to “backup solutions”. So more than 23 players should fly to Australia.
On Saturday, Voss-Tecklenburg will nominate their squad for the trip to the other side of the globe. Departure to “Down Under” will then be on Tuesday. The group opponents at the World Cup come from Morocco (07/25), Colombia (07/30) and South Korea (08/03).