The German soccer players will meet Spain, Denmark and Finland in the preliminary round of the European Championship 2022 in England and thus avoid the European championship favorites and long-term rival Sweden for the first time.
That was the result of the group draw of the European Football Union on Thursday in Manchester.
“It's a tough group, you really have to say that.
The other coaches say that too, but: It is the way it is, ”said national coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg about the result in the Victoria Warehouse.
“We have great challenges with Denmark, Spain and Finland.
It might be a good thing if you have to be in the tournament right away and have to accelerate straight away, ”added the 53-year-old.
Against long-term rivals Sweden, who won silver at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo, the DFB selection lost in the 2019 World Cup quarter-finals in France.
The European Championship finals tournament with 16 participants in England has been postponed by one year due to the corona pandemic and will take place from July 6th to 31st.
Linked to this are the hopes for a big football festival.
The opening match between England and Austria will be played at Manchester's Old Trafford, the final at Wembley Stadium in London.
"A little bit of the unknown"
The German team - with eight titles record European champions - will play in Group B against Denmark on July 8th in Milton Keynes. Then on July 12th in Brentford against Spain and on July 16th again in Milton Keynes against Finland. With Spain, the team from Voss-Tecklenburg will meet the team from the country of the current Champions League winner FC Barcelona. Denmark is currently 15th in the FIFA world rankings, Finland for Voss-Tecklenburg is “a bit of the unknown”.
The DFB selection was also included in Pot 1, as were the English hosts, defending champions Netherlands and France. Germany's women are facing their first tournament after the disappointing 2019 World Cup and the missed Olympic Games. In Group A, England, Norway as world champions from 1995, Austria and Northern Ireland, in Group C the Netherlands, Sweden, Russia and Switzerland, which was coached by Voss-Tecklenburg from 2012 to 2018, and in Group D France, Italy, Belgium and Iceland.
The hosts and UEFA are hoping for a big crowd as women's football has just taken off in England. The German team won an international match at Wembley 2-1 almost two years ago - in front of 77,768 spectators. According to the UEFA, of the more than 700,000 tickets, over 160,000 have already been sold. The number of spectators is expected to double compared to the 2017 European Championship in the Netherlands: 240,045 fans came at that time.
UEFA is distributing a total of 16 million euros in prize money at the European Championship - twice as much as in 2017. Each of the 16 participating associations will receive a starting bonus of 600,000 euros.
For the first time there are bonuses in the group stage for a win (100,000 euros) and for a draw (50,000 euros).
Reaching the quarter-finals will be rewarded with an additional 205,000 euros and the semi-finals with 320,000 euros.
The winner of the final will receive an additional 660,000 - and in the best case with three wins in the group stage a total of 2.085 million euros.