Milton Keynes Stadium is a beautiful football arena.

The greenkeepers have to spend a lot of time, effort and water to make the lawn shine so juicy green - especially on hot days like the one currently on the British Isles.

Half a dozen gardeners rushed to the field during the half-time break of the encounter between Germany and Finland to water everything extensively and to use rakes and forks to remove any unevenness that had arisen in the heat of the moment.

Marc Heinrich

sports editor.

  • Follow I follow

They were able to limit their efforts almost exclusively to half of the Scandinavians, where most of the action had taken place.

The fact that the selection of the German Football Association (DFB) was only 1-0 in the lead at the change of sides was one of the venial blemishes that the national coach didn't want to worry about afterwards, because Sophia Kleinherne's goal from the 40th minute A minute later, when effort and income were in a more efficient relationship, the direct hits of the storm leader Alexandra Popp (49th) and the European Championship debutant Nicole Anyomi (63rd) followed.

Again, Voss-Tecklenburg thought the performance was "superior".

"Now we want to take the next step," announced the 54-year-old, who was not conceited about what had been achieved so far, which was impressive at the end of the consistently victorious preliminary round, but wanted more.

Nine points, 9-0 goals: "If anyone had bet on it before the European Championships, they could have won a lot of money," said the national coach, who is anything but a gambler and attaches great importance to order and seriousness at work and when secretly hoped-for summit storm still sees some impassable terrain to overcome.

In the quarter-finals on Thursday (9 p.m. in the FAZ live ticker for the European Football Championship and on ARD) there will be a neighborly duel with Austria, which calculates outsider chances.

For Voss-Tecklenburg, with the start of the knockout duels, the European Championship is finally turning into a demanding challenge that calls for mental resilience in addition to physical strength.

The three victories against opponents with completely different orientations strengthened the conviction that their selection has the tactical tools: they held their ground against Denmark thanks to offensive variability, they defied the Spaniards with defensive enthusiasm, and Finland kept them in check by intercepting long balls as well as compacting the zone in front of their own penalty area with fast advances.

"That gives us a lot of security," said Voss-Tecklenburg about the sovereign readiness to defend, which gave keeper Merle Frohms an uneventful evening for long stretches;

only in the 65th minute did the 27-year-old have to intervene seriously for the first time.

She hadn't "imagined the course of the preliminary round so nicely" in advance, said the upcoming Wolfsburg player, and that it was "exhausting to stay focused" when there was so little to do.

14 Austrians play in the Bundesliga

The DFB entourage finds the fact that there is now a showdown with Austria in the round of the last eight nations extremely appealing, as everyone has heard.

A large part of the upcoming opponent is well known from everyday life in the Bundesliga, in which 14 of the 23 Austrian national players are employed;

Four of them in Frankfurt: Laura Feiersinger, Virginia Kirchberger, Verena Hanshaw and Barbara Dunst.

After returning to the base camp in west London, she could therefore chat a bit internally if necessary from the Eintracht sewing box, Anyomi joked, "because we know many Austrians really well and know what they can do".

Anyomi, who advanced to the Champions League qualification alongside the quartet with the Hessian club in the spring and, exceptionally, meets her familiar companions as a European Championship competitor in midsummer, used her debut in the unusual right-back position to advertise herself: In Stable during the backward movement and repeatedly with the urge to move forward, she "set a sign", as the 22-year-old appropriately concluded.

With her, all twenty field players that Voss-Tecklenburg nominated have already been used, which should have a beneficial effect on the working atmosphere, as each individual has received the vote of confidence that they are needed.

"We will now also accept this challenge," announced Voss-Tecklenburg in the direction of Team Austria, which in turn did not save on more pithy slogans in which the Piefkes were announced a hot dance.

The national coach confirmed that the Austrians were "a tight-knit bunch" who "really deserved" to have defeated Norway and progressed as a result.

Nevertheless, Voss-Tecklenburg sees her team as "the slight favourites".

The "courage, passion and energy" that has come to light in it to this day is worthy of all honor.

And on a weekend full of positive impressions, she was also happy about the emerging negative evidence that would soon certify Lea Schüller's corona recovery and make her return to the squad possible: "Then we'll be spoiled for choice," said Voss-Tecklenburg .

At the beginning of a third tournament week there are definitely worse things.