German Fraulein National Team 2020 & beyond

Sometimes I understand coaches wanting to trail players in new roles, but I guarantee Fowler hasn't felt the level of career destroying stupidity Oberdorf, and Lattwein would both endure as CM's being deployed as CB's under the leadership of MVT lol...

Germany having a very strange history of needlessly deploying players in roles they'll never be truly effective, I imagine Fowler's big issues with Australia have arisen due to your wnt's inconsistent squad depth...?

At the WC, and now the Olympics, it clear Australia have a very logical structure to their general play. But without Kerr, there seems to be no plan credible B to make everything function effectively, no...?

Meaning unlike Germany who's poor player analysis has prevented them from maximising the potential of their own player pool. Australia often appears to accept the reality if having a smaller player pool, and adjusted their entire focus a little too successfully on making everything function around Kerr...

Australia's 3 highest rated players during the Olympics, Cately, Kennedy, and Fowler, it suggesting Fowler isn't doing bad right now.

But within a wider women's game we see dedicated CAM's becoming increasingly rare, as long as Kerr still exists, Fowler's skill set will probably require her scoring far more goals to force future Australian teams to be built around what she does...

 

Nobody still knows the truth of why Stajcic was sacked. many beleive it was mostly political. He also started trasinioning some older players out of the team which of couse didn't go down well with some of them, one in particular who has since been recalled for the olympics......

 

Its more to do with dumb squad selection than depth issues. The depth is there but sadly creative players are shunned in favour of players with more physical presence.
So I agree to an extent with your comment about CAM's being less visible. Australia has two solid options in that area which have been ignored by previous coaching group, lets hope whoever comes in takes a fresh approach.
I agree the over reliance on Kerr, wasn't ideal but hopefully the new manager has better tactical plans, then again when you have one of the best strikers in the world in your side you might as well use her...it's a lot easier though when the players around her are higher quality, rather than the ''ahletes'' australia seems to prefer over creativity. Fowler needs to decide for herself if she wants to be a bit player who drifts in and out of games or a player who fufils their huge potential. Manchester City seemed to be able to get good results with her so I think
the right coach can help facilitate that. And I agree its shocking to waste a world class talent like Oberdorf playing her anywhere but her natural position.

 

...? Germany's coaches were very confusing in their own team selection for the Olympics. Very close to the tournaments start, them deciding to begin using an overtly direct long ball focused style of play, that really didn't match the 18 player squad Hrubesch had assembled.

When it came to facing an athletic Australian side on match day one, with hindsight now it's strange looking back at that game, and thinking it was Germany facing a team who selected their 11 to be more physically robust.

German players during this match holding 50/50 possession, with German player winning most of their ground duels too.

It forces me to ask who did Australia select for this tournament that was honestly meant to provide more physicality... because reality says it wasn't a genuine factor in any of their games...

I think over time the specialized role of a dedicated CAM has become increasingly marginalised within women's football.

And this actually odd to me, when Germany's biggest success in recent memory thanks to a dedicated CAM, while Putellas would also establish herself as the worlds best goal scoring AM, proving to various rivals how important this role can still be...

 

People always seem to complain about a very dominant individual presence on their team, feeling them to be the main reason for others not being given a fair opportunity to shine.

But with Australia's wnt, it just looks like their a side specifically built around what Kerr does, with no other plan/identity beyond what Kerr does...

A good system allowing others to step up shine in the absence of the established names. Maybe Australia, like Germany, begin to see more names emerge as strong players under their next coach...?

Doesn't she play in a wide forward role for her WSL team...? Plus international football often asks different demands from attackers.

Example here being Bayern Bühl Vs wnt Bühl. At club level Bühl not coming close to her true potential, but playing for the wnt she regularly producing displays that make her one of the games most effective wide forwards.

More than simply doing it herself, I suspect tactics/formation plays a bigger role on the effectiveness of Australia's new and younger players like Fowler.

 

The period of time MVT's football was so bad, it saw empty stadiums and low TV ratings watching a CB combination of Oberdorf - Lattwein struggle Vs Bulgaria and Serbia, probably the first sign of what would be her eventual downfall lol...

Under the leadership of MVT, CM's like Oberdorf, Lattwein, Nüsken, and Lohmann, all forced to start their senior wnt careers as defenders, within a national player pool deep enough for better options to be used.

Years later, we'd see all of this baffling logic on player selection return, as MVT would exit the WC group stages with a defence featuring Huth - Hendrich - Nüsken - Hagel...

Deploying players in their best positions something Germany constantly struggle to understand. Hopefully under Wuck, this trend will finally end, and a now Neid influence sanity return to the senior wnt.

 

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It forces me to ask who did Australia select for this tournament that was honestly meant to provide more physicality... because reality says it wasn't a genuine factor in any of their games...

No one in particular, it's more of general preference....Although Alex Chidiac, a player many Aussie fans agree should be getting more game time, can provide pysicality combined with smart football. And then there is Emily Geilnik who scored 1 or maybe it was both of Australia's goals against Germany in the friendly back in 2021, she's a great strong forward with skills, similar to Foord, but much more skillful in my opinion, but sadly she has had a horror run with injury.

It was just annouced here today Australia V Germany in Duisburg on 28/10/24, so I can look forward to that. Maybe Jule Brand can teach the Australian defenders to chase again

 

Yeah, I remember Emily Geilnik being part of Bayern during the clubs successful back to back title winning Miedema days, and also remember her scoring both of Australia's goals in Brand's impressive debut match for the senior wnt.

But with Geilnik age 32 now, I'd think it highlights why Australia will need to start building around younger options, when you also had a 36yo Heyman at the Olympics as a back up for the still injured 30yo Kerr...

Plus not knowing enough about Alex Chidiac to comment on her role within Australia's team, seeing she's currently a 25yo with 8 appearances for her national team over 5 years, has me believe something went very wrong with your coach integrating new options into their team...

LOL... yeah, after talking about the similar identity crisis of both teams, it's funny seeing Christian Wück's first official match with the German wnt announced to be against Australia in a friendly...

And yes, seeing how Brand seems to really enjoy facing Australia, I think it's also fair to believe we're set to see her shine once again for her new wnt coach during his first match with his new players.

 

LOL.... VfB Stuttgart's GK Kiara Beck replaces FC Köln's Paula Hoppe in Peter's u20 WC squad. Reasons for this...

Paula Hoppe wants to support her club team in the preseason, aka fight for a 1st team place in the injury absence of Koln's regular #1 GK Jasmin Pal...

This was an already unprecedented moment in time for the wnt program, and now I'm watching a 2nd choice u20 GK join Kett and Alber in actively choosing to turn down u20 WC football, to stay at home and compete for match time with their clubs... WOW!

 

Did Peter really want to leave Pucks out of her final 23...


Of all Peter's CB options, Pucks ended last season with a total of 24 appetences for her Cup Semi finalist/4th placed Essen team. This being even more club level appearances than current u20 captain Diehm...

Next to Axtmann, Veit, and Frankfurt's 2nd team defender Schneider, the amount of mins Pucks gained within Essen's team last season, making her comparatively appear almost like a long established senior pro lol.

It has me thinking now... maybe her absence from the u20 WC squad is based on the same/similar reasoning as Alber, Kett, and Hoppe...

And if this is happening now, the next question should be, does this become the new normality for future u20 WC squad selection....?

 

If your an elite young player, who really believed in your coach, and had an opportunity to challenge for a junior level WC, would you turn down this type of opportunity to remain home and fight for a potential place in your clubs 1st team...

There was previously a point in time where Germany's senior internationals who could still represent the u20 team, would step back down to compete in junior WWC's.

But now... we're watching a genuine senior level prospect like Alber say no to a u20 WC. As a Bayern bench warming Kett does the same, with a 2nd choice GK playing for Köln announcing she set on doing the same lol..

So... I think if there was a sign of the truly odd scenario we have with Neid and Künzer both existing in the same space, this could be it lol.

A talent like Alber says no to Neid's u20's, it unlikely to have any negative significance for her future hopes becoming part of Künzer's rebuilt senior wnt. The junior wnt's and the senior wnt, likely run completely independent of each other.

There could be a coming future where we see more players like Lattwein, Brand, Senß. Endemann, taking the path of never representing the u20's, but using club football to still go on to establish themselves as senior internationals...

 

Wück had an interview where he states Berger was Hrubesch's #1 GK during the Olympics, with the position still open for Frohms, or potentially other options should they arrive...

And when he was asked about the futures of both Popp and Hegering, he told media to simply continue speculating...

 

New head coach Wück, standing alongside his two assistants Meinert and Bartusiak.

According to the information revealed during the media day, Meinert will be looking after the teams attacking players, Bartusiak (aka Neid's inside man...) looking after the defensive players.

This approach supposedly meant to help create better opportunities to support the players individually within small groups...

Wück would also state this trio of coaching something he wanted..., actively seeking two former national team players to be next to him; this somehow leading to the DFB finding Bartusiak the most qualified option here lol.

But as much as I feel the above image is Küzner, Wück, and Meinert, all being forced to work with an unnecessary 3rd wheel. Compared to how this could have looked without Küzner's influence (Grings, standing next to her new assistant Bartusiak ...), it's still incredibly positive seeing this team with two proven high quality coaches.

 

Germany - Venezuela 5:2

 

I saw the opening game for Germany's u20's... and it was a mixture of bad, with some OK... nothing
truly special...


Things I thought were good, coming from Bender, and Zdebel. Things I thought were bad came from the teams poor shape, and the use of Sehitler as a DM (I feel like Bayern have made this her future under Straus now..)

You add the Acikgoz twins, Alber, Kett, Pucks, to what I saw, and I think you 100% establish a very strong team. But with Peter being a limited coach, losing some key names, means there's only so much you can expect from the current team we see now.

 

Defensively Germany's shape was very poor, with them simply being able to physically overwhelm Venezuela for most of the match, to prevent their South American opponents profiting from the games various individual defensive errors.

Schneider would take over at LB as the replacement for D.Acikgoz, as we'd also see Nachtigall start in absence of I.Acikgoz, with both Zicai and Steiner coming into the starting 11 for Kett, and Alber.

But again it's Bender who looks like she's the one player who's almost guaranteed to become a senior international, looking to be similar to Alber in the fact she's currently significantly further ahead of her peers in areas of technical ability, and decision making.

So whatever happens during this tournament, I still believe there going to be a host of very strong players within this generation, who should all go on to have very successful club careers, with some of these eventually making the senior wnt too.

It's just frustrating knowing a talent like Alber would rather spend more of her time sitting on Hoffenheim's bench...

 

So Merle Frohms just retired from the NT

Like I never really rated her too much, but wow, she’s only 29 and decides to just quit… even though she claims it was her decision to do so last year lol

 

She's the best shot stopper of any German GK, regularly producing very impressive performances in this one particular aspect of her game as an elite GK

But yes... when you acknowledge her inability to catch high crosses, or deal with any kind of mass of bodies inside her penalty box, I understand why people won't feel her absence a complete negative in the Wück era.

So... with Berger age 33, and nobody clearly her #2 right now, it will be interesting to see who Wück see's as his long term first choice when looking ahead towards Euro's and WC tournaments...

 

I found this online.... DFB officials apparently did not seek contact with Frohms in France on her becoming the no.2 GK...

This perceived disrespect is said to have been the cause of Frohms' exit from the NT. Communication with players a continuous issue with the DFB

 

So... is Frohms leaving the wnt a result of her being dropped as the teams #1 GK without any discussion on the matter...?

And if this true, I thought this nonsense ended once MVT had been told to leave...

The u20's losing key talent, and now the senior team seeing similar decisions being made from key players... how broken is this damn program...

 

Sorry, I'm sure Hrubesch will have told her personally that he have decided for Berger as No1 goalkeeper. If she have problems with this decision she could have contacted Hrubesch or Künzer herself. She said herself that she had considered that the Olympic Games will be her last tournament since the World Cup. So how should be DFB responsible for her retirement?

 

Germany vs Nigeria 3:1 (Veit watched Wolfsburg vs Bremen?)

 

Even with their poor approach to defending, Germany's u20's manage to win their second match 3-1 Vs Nigeria, which see's a mediocre Peter accomplishing the honestly unexpected feat of qualifying for the knockout stages a game early...

Peter refusing to deploy a real dedicated DM to help protect her unconvincing CB's remains the biggest issue with this team. But with Alber, Kett, and now Bender, all absent for this team, I'm actually shocked to see Peter able to find goals from 4th, 5th, and even 6th choice options in this squad...

 

As a young CB who once looked like an almost guaranteed future senior wnt player, I see how Veit looks right now, and honestly believe she'd see major improvement with a season long loan, or potentially ignite her senior level career with a good transfer to a new team.

In both u20 WC games appearing slow in thought, and slow in action, Veit has been left exposed in various 1v1 scenario's that should have resulted in her team conceding more goals...

And after this u20 WC ends, I genuinely hope she seeks a season long loan, or asks to leave Frankfurt; as Frankfurt's squad depth means they don't need her, while it very obvious she needs to have more contact with regular first team football if she's ever going to reach her potential.

Oh... and I don't know what Bayern are doing with Şehitler, but if their not going to utilise her attacking qualities, she REALLY needs to work on her first touch if she wants to be considered as a credible CM option.

And I say this having seen Zdebel shine brightest again for the u20's, while being a player her best role still unclear, but displaying technical ability, decision making, and all round energy, much further ahead of her current u20 level peers.

If Şehitler and Bender this teams best remaining talents, you really notice just how much Zdebel's extra experience as a senior level club player, allows her to shine on this stage of international football.