Germany Women’s Team Wins Play-Off First Leg In Slovenia
Germany’s national women's team celebrated a successful start to their play-off matches for the 2023 FIFA World Cup in Australia and New Zealand on Thursday with a 2-1 win over Slovenia.
Lea Schüller from Bayern Munich and Nicole Anyomi from Eintracht Frankfurt scored the goals for national coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg's DFB team in front of 2,000 fans in Ljudski Vrt Stadium in Maribor.
Slovenia had taken the lead in the 31st minute but Schüller equalized just before half-time and Anyomi scored the winner 20 minutes from time.
With the away win, the DFB team created a good starting position for the second leg in Cottbus on Tuesday against the outsider from the former Yugoslavia.
Voss-Tecklenburg was satisfied with the performance of her team despite some shortcomings.
"In the first half, our movement was still a bit sticky," said the 55-year-old, who saw her team dominate the game over long stretches but also missed many chances.
"But after the break, we came out well and scored the goals we needed.
The victory in Slovenia was the first in five games for the German women. Most recently, the 2022 European champions had lost 1-0 to the USA in a friendly in Florida.
Nicole Anyomi convinced Voss-Tecklenburg with her strong performance on the left wing and was voted Player of the Match by the UEFA observers.
However, the DFB coach had to do without some important players for the first leg in Slovenia.
