B With spring-like weather, many players enjoyed the free Saturday to the fullest. On Sunday the delegation then traveled to Dresden, where at the Rudolf-Harbig-Stadion the kickoff in the World Cup qualifying against Slovenia (Tuesday 5:45 p.m./ARD) is to take place, before the key match against Norway in Stavanger on artificial turf follows (Saturday 6 p.m./ZDF livestream). For one, the March double-header is a restart: Lea Schüller. Germany’s best goalscorer looks back on the toughest phase of her career. “The last few months were not easy. I was very dissatisfied and at no good footballing level,” the 28-year-old said recently.
At first, national coach Christian Wück took away her starting place at the European Championship in Switzerland, because despite scoring against Poland and Denmark the required physical intensity did not fit. Then she missed the Nations League finals against Spain for private reasons. In addition, the Lower Rhine-born attacker also retreated into the pouty corner at Bayern Munich after she increasingly sat on the bench. Her departure in the winter to Manchester United felt like an escape, which Schüller does not regret in retrospect.
Both are professionally run top clubs, but the playing style in the land of the European champions is again completely different because it is more intense: “That was a reason for me to go to England. Fitness simply has never been my strength, but I think I have been able to progress quite well in this area.” Maybe she is already thriving in the Elbe metropolis. Wück is convinced that his worry-child from the summer “will develop physically and athletically further, also against the ball: her move will do her good, she will take the next step in England.”
Mission: Close the Gap to Spain
The overarching mandate until the 2027 World Cup in Brazil, for the national coach, is: “We want to consolidate what we have started and continue to close the gaps to Spain and the other top nations.” For that, Wück cannot really do without the legitimate successor to Alexandra Popp, because her finishing quality is undisputed, with 54 goals in 82 international matches. With Sjoeke Nüsken (Chelsea), Rebecca Knaak (Manchester City), Shekiera Martinez (West Ham United), the on-call Sydney Lohmann (Manchester City) and Lea Schüller herself, there are now five national players under contract in the Women’s Super League (WSL). And will there be even more soon?
Coincidentally, Schüller’s rivals up front – Nicole Anyomi (Eintracht Frankfurt), Selina Cerci (TSG Hoffenheim) and Giovanna Hoffmann (RB Leipzig) – are likely to be free agents this summer. One or the other will probably be on the wish lists of English clubs. Just as nearly every European top club has long since inquired about the modalities of signing the top striker Klara Bühl (FC Bayern).
Das alles ist Zukunftsmusik. In der Gegenwart geht es für Wück darum, dass seine England-Legionärinnen ausreichend Spielzeit bekommen. Als Vorbild gilt ihm Mittelfeldspielerin Sjoeke Nüsken, die in der Hinrunde bei Chelsea sehr unzufrieden war. „Sie wollte sich rauskämpfen – das hat sie geschafft.“ Einen Weg, den auch Schüller einschlagen will. Nämlich „alles für die Mannschaft geben, Tore schießen und an meinen Schwächen arbeiten“. Dass sich nach den Länderspielen bald Manchester United und der FC Bayern im Champions-League-Viertelfinale begegnen, findet sie kurios. Die Konstellation mit Hinspiel im Old Trafford (25. März) und Rückspiel in der Allianz-Arena (1. April) nennt sie „ein cooles Los“.
