EM qualifying final

ÖFB women’s squad without surprises

Team manager Irene Fuhrmann

(Bild: GEPA pictures)

The ÖFB women's national team will play the last two group matches in the European Championship qualifiers against Poland in Altach (July 12) and Germany in Hanover (July 16) with the same proven personnel. Only the injured Katharina Naschenweng and Lisa Kolb are missing from the squad for the two games, which was announced on Tuesday. After the disappointing results against Iceland, team boss Irene Fuhrmann expects her players to have a "now-first-right mentality".

"I think we have a lot to make up for from our performance against Iceland," emphasized Fuhrmann in an online press conference on Tuesday. The task now is to "sharpen up and get our basics back on the pitch". "Mathematically, a direct ticket is still possible, even though we no longer have it in our own hands," she said, summarizing the situation in the group. The main thing is to "leave the qualifiers with a good feeling".

After a 1:1 in Ried and a 1:2 in the second leg in Reykjavik, Austria are three points behind the group runners-up from the island nation and can only overtake them with some - albeit unlikely - help. "I'm annoyed with the way we played because we didn't show what we're capable of, especially in Ried," said Fuhrmann, who has a potential debutant in the squad in the shape of U20 team captain Chiara D ́Angelo.

The full-back from St. Pölten, who has often been part of the senior team but has yet to play an international match, is the only change in the 23-strong squad for the Iceland double. She replaces Leipzig legionnaire Michela Croatto in the camp in Lindabrunn. Freiburg international Lisa Kolb (Achilles tendon) and FC Bayern's Katharina Naschenweng, who recently underwent knee surgery following a cruciate ligament rupture, are still unavailable.

"Coming straight from vacation"
Two further squad places for the decisive European Championship qualifiers will be allocated by the team manager next Friday. Most of the players are coming straight from vacation, with seven starting football-specific training with their foreign clubs this week. "We are therefore expecting one or two muscular problems in the coming days. We want to counteract this with two additional players," explained Fuhrmann.

Germany are first in Group 4 of the A-League with twelve points, Iceland have seven and Austria four. Poland are still without points, which is why three points are a must for the ÖFB team in Altach. The third and fourth-placed teams in the group will have to go through a multi-stage play-off in the fall to make it to the 2025 finals, which will be held in Switzerland. "We wanted to prevent that by all means, but we didn't manage it," said Fuhrmann. The coaching team had to question themselves as to the reasons. "Because it wasn't a pressure situation for us."

Fuhrmann emphasized that there was no reason to hope that Germany would stop taking the sweepstakes so seriously. "They're playing at the Olympics in August, so I'm convinced that every player wants to show themselves in front of (team boss; note) Horst Hrubesch. In that respect, I don't think it will be any easier for us." Poland will have to watch out for striker Ewa Pajor in particular.