News (engl.)

The Germany women’s national team have continued their strong start to World Cup qualifying by winning their second match. Christian Wück’s side defeated Norway 4-0 in Stavanger. In front of 8,500 fans at the Lyse Arena, Elisa Senß (18’), Carlotta Wamser (45+1’), Vivien Endemann (45+3’) and Jule Brand (57’) were all on the scoresheet.

Wück made three changes to the side that started in Germany’s 5-0 victory over Slovakia on Tuesday. In a 4-2-3-1 system, the head coach of the women’s national team continued to show faith in Ann-Katrin Berger between the sticks. In front of her, captain Giulia Gwinn, Janina Minge, Rebecca Knaak and Franziska Kett formed a four-player backline. Elisa Senß and Sjoeke Nüsken were entrusted with pulling the strings in defensive midfield. Vivien Endemann and Carlotta Wamser lined up either side of Jule Brand in attacking midfield, starting on the left and right wing respectively. Nicole Anyomi got the nod to lead the line from the outset.

The crowd in Stavanger witnessed an even first five minutes where both sides eased their way into the game, before Germany took control of the affair. The German duo of Anyomi and Endemann combined twice in quick succession as the visitors threatened to take the lead. First, Anyomi shielded the ball well and laid it off to Endemann who was denied by Norway keeper Fiskerstrand. Shortly after that, Anyomi teed up the Wolfsburg winger again. On this occasion, Endemann’s shot from the edge of the box hit the post (7’). In the 12th minute, the Norwegians had their first noteworthy chance of the encounter. After Germany lost possession, Maanum tried her luck from range but ended up missing the target.

Two goals just before the break

In the 18th minute, Knaak played a ball in behind down the left flank for Franziska Kett. The left-back made her way to the byline and put a driven cross into the penalty area. The Norwegian defence were unable to clear the danger beyond the edge of the box, where Elisa Senß was waiting to smash the ball into the back of the net and make it 1-0. Following the opener, the German defence were called into action to prevent the home team from responding immediately. Referee Stéphanie Frappart awarded the first booking of the encounter in the 23rd minute, with Sjoeke Nüsken being cautioned.

After that, the game briefly settled into a rhythm before becoming chaotic once again. Around the half-an-hour mark, the hosts created a flurry of chances and forced Berger into making a spectacular pair of saves, with the German goalkeeper stopping both a standard shot and the follow-up from close range. Then, Germany scored twice at the perfect time. In added time at the end of the first 45, Endemann played a lovely pass into the box, where Carlotta Wamser only had to stick her foot out to double Germany’s advantage (45+1’). Just two minutes after that, Endemann got in on the action. After being played through by Anyomi, she lifted the ball over Fiskerstrand to make it 3-0 to Germany at the interval (45+3’).

Brand seals the deal

Both teams emerged unchanged from the dressing rooms after the break. The second half started slowly, as both sides struggled to find the target with the few chances they created. In the 56th minute, Berger stood out once again, as she tipped Maanum’s shot from six yards out over the bar with a fabulous reflex save. After that, the keeper launched a counterattack. Endemann then threaded a pass through to Jule Brand, who beat everyone for pace and nutmegged Fiskerstrand to extend Germany’s lead to 4-0 (57’).

After around an hour of play, head coach Wück made his first change of the game, with Linda Dallmann replacing the second goalscorer of the evening, Carlotta Wamser (61’). In the 69th minute, Endemann looked to have bagged her second goal of the encounter, but it didn’t count due to an offside in the build-up. Then, Anyomi departed for Lea Schüller, and debutante Jella Veit came on for Janina Minge (70’). Norway looked for a way back into the game, but their efforts were either off-target or matched by Berger, all the while Wück’s side kept things compact. In the 79th minute, Brand drove down the right wing and got a shot off, but it flew wide of the far post.

Berger keeps another clean sheet

Sarai Linder and Laura Freigang replaced Kett and Brand for the closing stages of the game (80’). Norway continued to be thwarted up until the end of the match. Deep into added time, Linder cleared a shot off the line, before Endemann was denied by Fiskerstrand at the other end of the pitch. Germany managed to preserve their clean sheet come the final whistle, as the game ended 4-0.

As a result of the win, Germany sit top of Group A4 of World Cup qualifying after two matches with a tally of six points. The next couple of qualifiers are both against Austria and will be played on 14th April in Nürnberg (coverage from 18:15 CEST) and on 18th April in Ried (18:00 CEST).