National coach Martina Vos-Tecklenburg was “somewhat upset” after the unfortunate 1–0 defeat of the German football team. “I don’t know why we lost, but she was full of praise for her small and weak team,” the 54-year-old said on Sunday evening after a game against Olympic champions Canada at the European Championship preparatory tournament in England. ,

“It’s a shame because we put a lot of heart, passion and work into this game. We threw everything in. I saw a lot of positive things,” said Vos-Tecklenburg after the first loss in the Arnold Clark Cup. As in a 1–1 draw against Spain, the DFB Women proved at Norwich that they could keep up with world-class teams.

For the record European champion and two-time world champion, the four-nation tournament is a crucial test for the European Championship in July, also in England. The German players played their last major tournament in the 2019 World Cup when they lost to Sweden in the quarter-finals thus missing out on the Olympics in Tokyo.

Voss-Tecklenburg heaped special praise on Frankfurt striker Nicole Anomie. The 22-year-old put it “really, really well. He’s an asset to us.” This also applied to Hoffenheim defender Jan Feldkampf “with his calmness, with his moments of transition”. Canada’s only goal of the evening was scored by Vanessa Giles (7th minute) in front of just 200 spectators at Carrow Road Stadium.

It was the German team’s first defeat since a 1-0 loss to France last April. In the third and final game, the DFB Women meet hosts England in Wolverhampton on Wednesday (8.30pm / ZDF live stream). (dpa)