Germany
Group A: France, Nigeria, Canada
Background: defending world and european champions looking to enact the summer fairy tale at home.
Tactics: a standard 4-2-3-1 with strong wingers.
yesterday's friendly was the first of 4. germany have been involved in a gruelling preparation phase, showing they really mean business.
silvia neid will announce her squad after the champions' league final between turbine and ol feminin. personally, i feel that there won't be many surprises, because silvia neid has a set of players that she trusts.
gk: angerer, holl, weiß
defenders: bresonik, peter, krahn, bartusiak, faißt, fuss(goeßling)
midfielders: kulig, laudehr, hingst, garefrekas, behringer
attackers: prinz, grings, bajramaj, okoyino, mittag, popp, müller
there are maybe three places that are uncertain. silvia neid is very loyal to her experienced players, but the time for renewal is slowly approaching, and it would be prudent to bring a few of the young players along for the experience. this would mean sacrificing some of the old guard.
in this scenario, fuss or martina müller would be sacrificed for goeßling.
i think the biggest disappointment is that dzenifer maroszan, the great talent was injured in the preparation and would not be in the world cup squad.
starting lineup
as i said for euro2009, the difference between germany and the other teams is that they have 15 quality players, while the other teams have 5. that is the difference.
silvia neid wanted versatility from her players, and she has gotten it. there are many possible combinations looking at the players that they have, but i feel that there will be just one formula that she will use for all the games, and two players who will always come on in the second half.
gk: angerer
undisputed no1
rightback: linda bresonik
a player i rate as germany's best central midfielder, she wears the no10 as well. she started in central midfield in 2009 but ended up playing rightback to solve the problem in that position. i find it a pity, but germany's best rightback is their best central midfielder. this means that they have someone who can play from the back.
leftback: verena faißt
the problem position now that the rightback problem has been solved. babette peter played euro2009 as leftback, but more out of necessity than anything. i do think germany have a natural solution in verena faißt now. yet you don't know how much silvia neid trusts her. i would play verena faißt. but i have had enough disagreement with her team selections that i can fully expect babette to play here.
centrebacks: babette peter and annike krahn
peter is the rock in turbine potsdam's defence, while krahn is the standout centreback of euro2009 but has had an injury-blighted season.
ariane hingst is silvia neid's favourite, so i won't be surprised if she plays in place of krahn.
central midfield: kulig and laudehr
basically the same pairing from 2009. judging from yesterday, no real need for change.
of course, hingst could also come in here.
left wing: bajramaj
right wing: garefrekas
an old warhorse. tireless runner, good crosser, good shot and good header of the ball. a very effective player who lacks the class of the other attackers. but you could say shes the ray parlour of this german team.
centre forward: birgit prinz
had a poor euro2009 by her standard, but has enjoyed a relative injury-free season this time round. looks in better form.
striker: inka grings
goal machine.
key players:
fatmire bajramaj
she will just take the ball and run. she had such an outstanding 09/10 that i was convinced she would be the star player of this World Cup. this season, turbine and bajramaj haven't been as scintillating and she looked tired, injured, pissed off at times. she was the impact sub in 2009, and i always had her in my fantasy team, because 'bajramaj is always worth a goal when she comes on'
this time round, i think she has 90 minutes to do her job instead of 20minutes.
birgit prinz
had a lacklustre euro 2009, but her season then had been plagued by injuries. looks in better shape this time round. i am sure she will want to silence her critics, including me. to be honest, i have never seen the all-conquering birgit prinz that is such a legend in women's football.
kim kulig
only 21 years old, but already a key player. i first saw her in the 2008 u20 world cup, where she was the key player together with julia simic. she played as a forward then, so the first time i saw her play for the full national team, my jaws dropped when i saw that she was playing in central midfield.
box to box midfielder.
players to watch:
celia okoyino
complete forward, with strength, speed and skill. she will definitely start from the bench, unless silvia neid surprises me, which is highly unlikely. as in 2009, she will be the impact sub. but like bajramaj, she has since matured as a player and is ready for more responsibilities.
alexandra popp
only 18, one of silvia neid's favourites as well. has catapulted overnight to one of the most talked about players in germany. powerful striker who was the top scorer in the u20 world cup last year.
i remember the first time i saw her play. it was a cup game between bayern and duisburg. rain was beating down mercilessly, and she was struggling on the left flank. i must admit that i never knew she would become so highly-rated.
but even today, i will say that she's a good player, but not my kind of forward.
Overall, whoever they play, you can expect a team that is very strong and powerful, capable of beating opponents in 1v1. they will be organised, they will pass the ball abit, but they will play direct and aggressive because they know their players are strong enough to beat the opponents 1 on 1. this team is a well-oiled machine that makes few mistakes and punishes mistakes by opponents severely. backed by home support(tickets are already sold out for the germany games), they will probably be the hardest team to play.
this Germany is similar to the one in 2009. the system will be the same, with just a few changes in personnel. now they have a leftback, if they choose to use her. and they have bajramaj ready to play from the start. and they have home support.
but there are also tougher opponents like brazil and usa.
they expect to win the world cup, and they are surely one of the favourites.
Background: defending world and european champions looking to enact the summer fairy tale at home.
Tactics: a standard 4-2-3-1 with strong wingers.
yesterday's friendly was the first of 4. germany have been involved in a gruelling preparation phase, showing they really mean business.
silvia neid will announce her squad after the champions' league final between turbine and ol feminin. personally, i feel that there won't be many surprises, because silvia neid has a set of players that she trusts.
gk: angerer, holl, weiß
defenders: bresonik, peter, krahn, bartusiak, faißt, fuss(goeßling)
midfielders: kulig, laudehr, hingst, garefrekas, behringer
attackers: prinz, grings, bajramaj, okoyino, mittag, popp, müller
there are maybe three places that are uncertain. silvia neid is very loyal to her experienced players, but the time for renewal is slowly approaching, and it would be prudent to bring a few of the young players along for the experience. this would mean sacrificing some of the old guard.
in this scenario, fuss or martina müller would be sacrificed for goeßling.
i think the biggest disappointment is that dzenifer maroszan, the great talent was injured in the preparation and would not be in the world cup squad.
starting lineup
as i said for euro2009, the difference between germany and the other teams is that they have 15 quality players, while the other teams have 5. that is the difference.
silvia neid wanted versatility from her players, and she has gotten it. there are many possible combinations looking at the players that they have, but i feel that there will be just one formula that she will use for all the games, and two players who will always come on in the second half.
gk: angerer
undisputed no1
rightback: linda bresonik
a player i rate as germany's best central midfielder, she wears the no10 as well. she started in central midfield in 2009 but ended up playing rightback to solve the problem in that position. i find it a pity, but germany's best rightback is their best central midfielder. this means that they have someone who can play from the back.
leftback: verena faißt
the problem position now that the rightback problem has been solved. babette peter played euro2009 as leftback, but more out of necessity than anything. i do think germany have a natural solution in verena faißt now. yet you don't know how much silvia neid trusts her. i would play verena faißt. but i have had enough disagreement with her team selections that i can fully expect babette to play here.
centrebacks: babette peter and annike krahn
peter is the rock in turbine potsdam's defence, while krahn is the standout centreback of euro2009 but has had an injury-blighted season.
ariane hingst is silvia neid's favourite, so i won't be surprised if she plays in place of krahn.
central midfield: kulig and laudehr
basically the same pairing from 2009. judging from yesterday, no real need for change.
of course, hingst could also come in here.
left wing: bajramaj
right wing: garefrekas
an old warhorse. tireless runner, good crosser, good shot and good header of the ball. a very effective player who lacks the class of the other attackers. but you could say shes the ray parlour of this german team.
centre forward: birgit prinz
had a poor euro2009 by her standard, but has enjoyed a relative injury-free season this time round. looks in better form.
striker: inka grings
goal machine.
key players:
fatmire bajramaj
she will just take the ball and run. she had such an outstanding 09/10 that i was convinced she would be the star player of this World Cup. this season, turbine and bajramaj haven't been as scintillating and she looked tired, injured, pissed off at times. she was the impact sub in 2009, and i always had her in my fantasy team, because 'bajramaj is always worth a goal when she comes on'
this time round, i think she has 90 minutes to do her job instead of 20minutes.
birgit prinz
had a lacklustre euro 2009, but her season then had been plagued by injuries. looks in better shape this time round. i am sure she will want to silence her critics, including me. to be honest, i have never seen the all-conquering birgit prinz that is such a legend in women's football.
kim kulig
only 21 years old, but already a key player. i first saw her in the 2008 u20 world cup, where she was the key player together with julia simic. she played as a forward then, so the first time i saw her play for the full national team, my jaws dropped when i saw that she was playing in central midfield.
box to box midfielder.
players to watch:
celia okoyino
complete forward, with strength, speed and skill. she will definitely start from the bench, unless silvia neid surprises me, which is highly unlikely. as in 2009, she will be the impact sub. but like bajramaj, she has since matured as a player and is ready for more responsibilities.
alexandra popp
only 18, one of silvia neid's favourites as well. has catapulted overnight to one of the most talked about players in germany. powerful striker who was the top scorer in the u20 world cup last year.
i remember the first time i saw her play. it was a cup game between bayern and duisburg. rain was beating down mercilessly, and she was struggling on the left flank. i must admit that i never knew she would become so highly-rated.
but even today, i will say that she's a good player, but not my kind of forward.
Overall, whoever they play, you can expect a team that is very strong and powerful, capable of beating opponents in 1v1. they will be organised, they will pass the ball abit, but they will play direct and aggressive because they know their players are strong enough to beat the opponents 1 on 1. this team is a well-oiled machine that makes few mistakes and punishes mistakes by opponents severely. backed by home support(tickets are already sold out for the germany games), they will probably be the hardest team to play.
this Germany is similar to the one in 2009. the system will be the same, with just a few changes in personnel. now they have a leftback, if they choose to use her. and they have bajramaj ready to play from the start. and they have home support.
but there are also tougher opponents like brazil and usa.
they expect to win the world cup, and they are surely one of the favourites.
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