At the end, it all looked easy enough for , as goals from Jule Brand and saw them past Poland. But while the win was deserved and the performance improved as the game went on, it was not quite the perfect start.
The eight-time champions were wasteful in front of goal and were not entirely convincing at the back. A more ruthless side than Poland may well have capitalized on some sloppy German errors. Sweden and Denmark, Germany’s other group stage opponents, may not be so charitable.
But perhaps more significantly, captain left the pitch in tears during the first half after appearing to injure her knee while making a crucial tackle on Poland’s prolific striker, Ewa Pajor.
Gwinn seemed to know straight away that she was in trouble. The Bayern Munich fullback, 26, has already suffered two anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries, the last of which saw her miss the 2023 World Cup. It’s an injury much , and usually means a minimum of six months out. Though it’s not yet clear what Gwinn’s injury is this time, her participation in the rest of this tournament is now in significant doubt.
Coach Christian Wück called it a “bitter price” to pay for the win and said the players all give Gwinn a “big hug” at halftime.
“When you’ve torn a cruciate ligament twice and then injure your knee again, you’re in shock at first,” Wück continued. “We don’t want to speculate.” The coach confirmed Gwinn will have an MRI tomorrow to determine the extent of the damage.
Brand steps up as Gwinn sits out
Gwinn has been the face of this squad in the buildup and Germany now needed another player to step up: enter Brand. The Wolfsburg winger had never scored a tournament goal in 10 games at the World Cup and Euros but stepped inside to arrow an excellent strike in to the far corner to give her side the lead on 52 minutes.
Lea Schüller finally headed a second 14 minutes later to give Germany a cushion after side had wasted a string of chances. Though Poland showed flashes, mainly through the sharpness of Pajor, Germany had done enough.
Brand’s first major tournament goal and Schüller, Germany’s striker, getting off the mark early are both significant for a Germany team still searching for a new identity after the early exit in 2023 and the retirement of a number of key players. Brand and Klara Bühl on the opposite wing were both a constant danger while Schüller’s movement, if not finishing, impressed.
The retirements of Svenja Huth and have taken away Germany’s go-to attacking players in big games and confidence gained by Brand and Schüller against the second-lowest ranked side in the competition could well prove critical as the tournament draws on.
Schüller now the focal point
While Brand has been a fixture in the national team for some time, the 22-year-old has not quite lived up to the potential that saw her named the inaugural winner of the Golden Girl, an award given to the best young female player in world football, in 2022. Skillful, strong and smart, a player of her quality might be expected to score more than 10 goals in 60 international caps.
Schüller, on the other hand, has an exceptional goal record for Germany, 53 in 76 games. Yet still, the striker was always seen as a backup to Popp.
Schüller was the top scorer in Euros qualifying, has hit four in her last three Germany games, and scored a hat-trick in the German Cup final in May. She’s a striker in form, and she might have had more on Friday.
While the captain of a new look Germany waits nervously for medical tests, a couple of her teammates have made significant strides out of the shadows. Denmark await on Tuesday.
Edited by: Srinivas Mazumdaru
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