News (engl.)

Germany’s UEFA Women’s EURO semi-final against Spain in Zürich is just one day away (Wednesday, 21:00 CEST). Ahead of the game against the reigning World Cup winners, coach Christian Wück and defender Rebecca Knaak spoke to the media about the team’s mental and physical recovery following the France win, as well as possible tactics.

Christian Wück on...

...how fresh his team is: It was important to use the time we had to allow the players to recover and that process hasn’t finished yet. We’re happy that our game is only tomorrow evening as that gives us even more time to sharpen up mentally as well as physically.

…support from famous names back home: We’re incredibly pleased that prominent figures from football and politics are reaching out and taking notice of us. It shows that we’re on the right track and that our quarter-final sparked many emotions, not just within our team, but across Germany as well.

…the short break between the France and the Spain game: That is what makes tournaments so exciting – you have to switch your focus from one team to another in an extremely short space of time. It’s important that our players are mentally refreshed. They know what to expect from Spain.

…expectations for the semi-final: We all know the Spaniards, they’re known for their short passing game. We’ll have to do a lot of chasing and suffer as a team. We need to wait for the right moments, but those moments will come. In our attack, we need to make the most of our strengths in possession, something we had less opportunity to do against France. We also want to make an impact with the ball against Spain. We have our philosophy and principles about how we want to play, and they haven’t changed. We want to get stuck in and actively look to win the ball back. We want to find space behind their defence. These are guiding principles that might sound simple, but they define our football. We will obviously have to make changes – they are unavoidable. We also need to see what tactical adjustments we can make. Our suspensions and Sarai Linder’s injury hurt us a lot, but we’ll find solutions.

...Jule Brand: Jule’s performances from the very first game against Poland up until the quarter-finals speak for themselves. She has taken the next step in her development and has shown how much she’s improved. I’m really pleased with Jule.

Rebecca Knaak on...

...the players’ fitness levels: We have recharged our batteries. We’ve spent a bit of time in ice baths and with our physios. We’re more than ready for tomorrow’s game.

...the France game as a blueprint for facing Spain: The performance against France should form the foundation for every game in terms of fight, passion, will and unity. These are the values we stand for, and they will be just as important against Spain.

...the recipe for perfect mental recovery: Every player has their own strategies. We solve a lot as a team and support each other a great deal. We have a good sense of what each player needs, whether it’s rest, distraction or kind words. We try to help each other so that every player can get back to 100 percent. We’re all here because we have specific strengths, and we want to focus on those and boost each other’s confidence.

…more changes to the defence: It speaks volumes about the team that we’ve accepted each situation as it came – and there have been many unusual situations. We always support each other. In the end, it doesn’t matter who plays next to whom. We’re a team, and that’s why we have the entire squad, every single player.

…the short break between the quarter-final and the semi-final: It’s good to have some peace and quiet from a mental and physical point of view. The long break after the Sweden game helped us to get back to a good fitness level. On the other hand, I also found it a bit of a challenge. I’d rather have played another game soon after because you always want to get back on track after a defeat.