Before the draw: DFB Women safe at Olympics against USA

Impression from last comparison in November 2022: Lina Mahul runs the ball.
Imago images

On the way to the 2024 Olympic soccer tournament in Paris (July 25 to August 10), the German women's national team has some scheduling protection from Friday. Although the official draw is yet to take place – the first group opponent has already been decided. It will only take place next Wednesday in Saint-Denis.

This was made possible by the FIFA world rankings released on Friday: National coach Horst Hrubesch's team, after the successful U-17 coach Christian Wook after the Olympics, is now fifth in the world rankings. In pot two – with Japan (7th) and defending champion Canada (9th).

No group was made with two teams from the same confederation, with only the USA (4th) along with hosts France (3rd) and world champions Spain (1st), leaving only the US women as German opponents. .

Bad memories from the last Olympics

The fight is definitely worth it. However, the DFB team has bad memories of its last game against the USA and its only Olympic match to date: in November 2022, Germany – still under the guidance of national coach Martina Voss-Decklenburg – lost 2-1 in Harrison. , in the 2004 Olympic semifinals, where the United States won 2–1 after extra time in Heraklion.

In addition to Brazil (10th) and Australia (12th), the third seed for the Olympic Games is the Colombians (23rd), who began knocking out Germany in the preliminary round of the World Cup last summer. Apart from New Zealand (28th), two African teams will be added from Pot Four – the decisions will be made in early April.

Germany's participation in the Olympics enabled them to qualify through the Nations League; After a semi-final exit against France, who had already qualified as hosts (1:2), the DFB defeated the Netherlands 2-0 to win the third-place match.