Victory against Norway: DFB women qualify for the 2027 World Cup

While regular goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger was able to recover from her abdominal injury in time, Wück had to almost completely rebuild his regular defense. So Wück put Müller from the US club Portland Thorns on the right for captain Gwinn (shoulder surgery). The 25-year-old repaid the trust after a long break due to a torn cruciate ligament with her placed left-footed shot to take the lead. On the left, Wamser replaced the injured Franziska Kett, while in the defense center the experienced Kathrin Hendrich came into action for the suspended vice-captain Janina Minge alongside Rebecca Knaak. Sjoeke Nüsken was allowed to lead the DFB team onto the field for the first time as captain in their 58th international match.

Wück tried to ignore the increased pressure after the recent 0-0 mistake in Austria. “We don’t think about a possible defeat. We want to win and be one of the first European teams to qualify,” said Wück on ARD before kick-off. And so, as in the 4-0 win in the first leg, his team started powerfully and tried to put their fast offensive around Lea Schüller, Klara Bühl and Jule Brand in the spotlight. The German defense particularly had to keep an eye on former Wolfsburg player Caroline Graham Hansen, who represented the injured former world footballer Ada Hegerberg as captain.

Norway’s supposed goal by Signe Gaupset in the 43rd minute did not count due to an offside position, a close decision. Shortly before the break and immediately afterwards, Berger had to intervene more intensively, Norway increased the pressure on the sometimes airy German defense: The 35-year-old steered the ball over the crossbar twice in dire need. The DFB team then freed themselves again, and Schüller (62′) missed the next good chance after a good assist from Brand.