Germany women drew 0-0 against Sweden in front of more than 20,000 fans in Duisburg, their first game of 2023. Captain Alexandra Popp won her 125th cap, while Janina Minge made her debut.
Sweden have the better chances
The first dangerous moment for either side came in the seventh minute, when a misplaced back pass saw Stina Blackstenius running in behind, but goalkeeper Merle Frohms was there to clear the danger. Martina Voss-Tecklenburg’s side grew into the game after around 10 minutes, but struggled to create decent chances. In the 21st minute, the away team came extremely close to taking the lead. Firstly, Fridolina Rolfö had a shot blocked and then Blackstenius’ looping header found the back of the net, but the flag went up for offside.
Germany’s best chance of the first half came via Sara Däbritz, whose rasping drive went just past Zecira Musovic’s post (25’). At the other end, Filippa Angeldal fired a free-kick just over the bar (27’).
Sweden, who continuously looked to press Germany, kept on winning back possession as they aimed to break quickly. One of these attacks led to Kosovare Asllani forcing Frohms into a fine save from her long-range shot in the 33rd minute. Sofia Jakobsson’s attempt from the following corner was blocked (34’), as was Asllani’s from a corner later on in the first half (42’).
Frohms and the post keep Sweden out
Lena Lattwein replaced Sjoeke Nüsken for the second half and she got stuck in right away, though that didn’t stop Sweden putting Germany under pressure. Lina Magull got a shot on target after 55 minutes, but the FC Bayern midfielder couldn’t get enough behind it to trouble Musovic.
Sweden’s defence had to work harder in the second half, but Germany lacked a good final ball. Voss-Tecklenburg reacted by bringing on Lea Schüller for Magull (66’), then Laura Freigang and Jule Brand for Sophia Kleinherne and Klara Bühl (72’).
Julia Zigiotti Olme narrowly missed the target from a corner for Sweden (73’), before Blackstenius saw Frohms keep out her shot with her legs (78’).
Shortly afterwards, Johanna Rytting Kanerud hit the post from a tight angle (81’). Janina Minge replaced Svenja Huth to make her senior debut, while Tabea Waßmuth also came on for Däbritz (82’). The final chance of the game was a Rolfö header easily caught by the excellent Frohms (88’).