DFB women in the World Cup qualification: The national coach and his construction sites

WIf things go really badly, the number one in the German goal will also be out for this important game. At the end of May, Ann-Katrin Berger injured her stomach so badly in a collision during a game with her US club Gotham FC that she had to be taken off the pitch on a stretcher and taken to a hospital for one night. She was able to travel to Cologne for the World Cup qualifier against Norway, but the bruise had not healed. “I’m in pain. But some pain is bearable – and we’re just trying to test how far we can go,” said Berger after an easier training session three days before kick-off. It could get better, it could just as easily get worse: “I’ll try to do as much as possible. And then let’s see if it’s enough until Friday.”

The 35-year-old should approach it slowly, including a protective padding on her upper body, just don’t take any risks in the preparation. “We will certainly wait until the last minute to make the decision,” was an initial assessment from assistant coach Maren Meinert: “Maybe not until the day of the game.” On Thursday, national coach Christian Wück seemed confident. The question mark cannot yet be replaced by an exclamation mark, but Berger has gradually increased the training and given a positive signal. Should she fail, Ena Mahmutovic from FC Bayern and Stina Johannes from VfL Wolfsburg will compete for her place; there is no fixed ranking.

Before their next game, the DFB women are more than 6,800 kilometers away from a goalkeeper debate like the men’s before the World Cup in North America, which lies between their current locations in Cologne and Chicago. But number one Ann-Katrin Berger and number one Manuel Neuer share a relevant trait: they are said to have a certain aura that can intimidate opponents just by the fact that this one person in the DFB jersey extends his arms between the posts. Mahmutovic and Johannes are tried and tested goalkeepers, but the Berger aura would do quite well against the Norwegians on Friday evening (8:35 p.m., ARD).

With Kathrin Hendrich, a player returns who can keep up when it comes to aura points

The first leg was less clear-cut than the 4-0 win suggests. And the pressure has increased. Since the sobering 0-0 draw against Austria in April, the Germans lead Group A4 by just one point ahead of Norway. And so the last two games are unexpectedly about whether they have to buy one of the four direct World Cup tickets for 2027 or play two extra rounds of playoffs. The mode is complicated, but has the side effect that League A teams have a chance of survival like a cat with multiple lives, even if they only finish third or fourth. However, this can also involve duels against heavyweights such as the European champions from England or the world champions from Spain, both of whom were drawn in Group A3 and will meet each other on Friday. For the time being, the following applies to the DFB women: If they draw against Norway, they can still slip past the playoffs in Slovenia next Tuesday and save themselves the headache of all the possible routes to the tournament in Brazil.

Berger is also so important because another major construction site has already opened up in the national team: the national coach has to do without three of his four regular players in defense, which also means that not only captain Giulia Gwinn is missing after an operation on her shoulder (dislocated against Austria), but also vice-captain Janina Minge (red card against, yes, Austria). This now makes midfielder Sjoeke Nüsken the official leader. “It will be an emotional game,” said Nüsken on Thursday. “So far it’s still a little dream, but when I stand there tomorrow it will come true.” In addition, left-back Franziska Kett is out injured.

With Kathrin Hendrich, a specialist returns who can keep up when it comes to aura points in the defensive faction. She has played 90 international matches, more than anyone else in the squad. The 34-year-old from the Chicago Red Stars is back after tearing a muscle in her calf. “We need their experience if Janina and Giulia break away,” emphasized Wück. Rebecca Knaak is the only one left from the well-rehearsed back four. On the offensive, one of the most important players, Klara Bühl, is returning after a muscle and tendon injury. This also helps with aura farming (for everyone over the teen threshold: gaining respect through a confident demeanor).

Instead of pondering who and how with whom, the national coach and his team would have liked to work on the issues that became obvious against Austria, freed from the pressure of results: slight mistakes, timing, positioning, looking for solutions when the actual plan doesn’t work. Everything was going too slowly. The game against Norway will be important “for how we feel about the next few weeks and months.” Feelings can only be deceptive. It wasn’t announced that this case actually happened one step further down the development ladder – but, as Christian Wück described, it felt like a secure position beforehand.