The Fall of Germany and Matildas’ Summer Fairy Tale

The World Cup in Australia and New Zealand set new standards – especially in terms of development and awareness of the sport. However, the German selection is one of the big losers.

The Women’s World Cup ends on Sunday (12:00pm CEST/ZDF) with the big final between England and Spain. In any case, 17 days after the German football team’s embarrassing elimination in the preliminary round, any country will be awarded the Gold Cup for the first time.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino had already described the finals in Australia and New Zealand as “the best ever” going into the final weekend. The ninth edition of the tournament brought massive, worldwide interest to women’s football – a remarkable sporting progression was also demonstrated by the 32 participating countries for the first time. Peaks and flops of the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand:

tops

Matildas: The Australians’ dream journey around superstar Sam Kerr only came to an end in the semi-final against England. However, the co-hosts delighted the country’s many rugby and cricket fans and secured record viewing figures. However, they were denied medals after 0:2 in the third place match against Sweden.

Sports Category: The big winner is women’s soccer itself. More speed, more athleticism, more power, more passion and a new fun class – the evolution continues to progress rapidly. However, in most countries, it is not so far as structures are concerned. “Even play”—the same requirements as men—will remain an ongoing theme.

Response from all over the world: “Almost two million spectators came to the stadiums and filled the stands everywhere. In addition, there are two billion viewers around the world who followed not only their team, but the entire World Cup. The world federation received more than half a billion euros.

The Outsiders The debate over whether 32 wasn’t much died down quickly: Haiti lost just 0-1 to England in the preliminary round, Nigeria played 0-0 against Olympic champions Canada, and like South Africa and Morocco reached the last 16, Colombia reached the quarter-finals. .

flops

Germany National Team: The two-time world champions had to go home after beating South Korea 1-1 in their last group match – they wanted to play for the title. Martina Voss-Tecklenburg continues to coach the national team, but as with Qatar’s Al Ittihad men, it is becoming clear that Germany is no longer among the best in the world.

USA-Brazil: At the last World Cup hosted by superstar Marta, the South Americans missed out on the Round of 16 – meaning Swedish coach Pia Sundhage’s mission fell through as well. In the first round of the knockout round against Sweden, the American World Champions from 2015 and 2019 saw off Megan Rapinoe. Coach Vlatko Andonovski has already resigned.

Sustainability: The long journeys to Australia and New Zealand and the distances in between require many trips for more than a million fans and delegations. Despite Fifa’s proclamation of “green stadiums”, experts have previously agreed that a tournament at the other end of the world is not sustainable.

Weather: Although teams played mostly in mild temperatures during the Australian winter, the weather was sometimes chilly in New Zealand and windbreakers were standard equipment for spectators, coaches and substitute players. In addition, many football players had to get used to: it was getting dark around five in the evening.

dpa / mar