Silvia Neid and Horst Hrubesch have announced their women’s and men’s Olympic squads for the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil from 3rd to 20th August.
There were 16 outfield players and two goalkeepers selected for the women’s team, including six bronze medal winners from the 2008 Olympic Games in Peking in the form of Saskia Bartusiak, Simone Laudehr, Annike Krahn, Babett Peter, Anja Mittag and Melanie Behringer. Lisa Weiß, Kathrin Hendrich, Lina Magull and Svenja Huth were placed on standby, meaning that they will travel to Brazil with the team but only play if another player is forced to pull out due to injury. Meike Kämper, Lena Petermann, Pauline Bremer and Felicitas Rauch missed out after being a part of the 26 strong preliminary squad.
Neid: “Versatility plays a big role”
Head coach Neid explained: “The decision was obviously not an easy one for us. We got a good impression from the three preparatory training camps and the coaching staff debated the situation intensively after each training session. Versatility plays a big role with only being able to select 16 outfielders and two goalkeepers. Pauline, Meike, Lena and Felicitas unfortunately didn’t make the squad for different reasons but they are all players with a lot of potential that are a part of our future plans.”
The DFB women will play their final friendly ahead of the tournament against Ghana in Paderborn on 22nd July (18:00 CEST). The squad will meet in Frankfurt on 27th July ahead of their departure to São Paulo on 29th July. They will begin the group stage against Zimbabwe on 3rd August (23:00 CEST) before facing Australia on 6th August. Their final group match will see them take on Canada in Brasilia on 9th August (21:00 CEST).
Bender twins and World Champion Ginter selected
Germany’s 18-man Olympic squad, who will be competing at the Olympic Games for the first time since 1988, will be lead by U21 captain Leon Goretzka as well as the experienced heads of Lars Bender (Bayer 04 Leverkusen), Sven Bender (Borussia Dortmund) and Nils Petersen (SC Freiburg). Max Meyer (FC Schalke 04), Julian Brandt (Bayer 04 Leverkusen), Davie Selke, Lukas Klostermann (both RB Leipzig), as well as Niklas Süle und Jeremy Toljan (both TSG 1899 Hoffenheim) are some of the current U21 internationals selected in Horst Hrubesch’s men’s Olympic squad.
World Champion Matthias Ginter (Borussia Dortmund) and goalkeeper Timo Horn (1. FC Köln) belonged to the U21 squad that qualified for the Olympics through the European U21 Championship last year. Leonardo Bittencourt (1. FC Köln), Eric Oelschlägel (SV Werder Bremen), Christian Günter and Sebastian Kerk (both SC Freiburg) have been placed on standby in case of injury.
Hrubesch: “We have a good mix”
Coach Horst Hrubesch explained: “The anticipation ahead of the Olympic Games is massive. Rio has been a goal that we have been working towards for a long time now. It will be a unique experience for us and one that the players will be able to tell their grandchildren. We have a good mix of current U21 players and older players in the team. Despite the difficult decision of who to nominate, the squad is of a very high quality. I am happy for every individual and I am sure that plenty is possible with these lads.”
The men’s Olympic team will meet up on the 28th July in Frankfurt for a three day training camp before departing for Brazil on 30th July. The DFB team will play their first group match against Mexico in Salvador on 4th August (22:00 CEST). Their second match in group C will see them take on South Korea on 7th August (21:00 CEST). Germany will play their final match of the group stage in Belo Horizonte on 10th August (21:00 CEST). Their opponents: Fiji.