Women’s World Cup 2023: Everything you need to know about Germany

Germany′s World Cup 2023 fixtures:

You can read all about Morocco, Colombia and Korea Republic by clicking on their names here.

How did Germany qualify?

Germany qualified by finishing top of UEFA Group H. They won nine of ten matches, against Portugal, Türkiye, Serbia, Israel and Bulgaria, their sole defeat coming in Stara Pazova against Serbia.

Germany’s major tournament record

World Cup

Best World Cup result: Winners- 2003 & 2007.

European Championships

Best Euros result: Winners- 1989, 1991, 1995, 1997, 2001, 2005, 2009 & 2013.

Olympic Games

Best Olympics result: Gold Medalists- 2016.

Germany at World Cup 2023

Very few teams on the planet can boast as much pedigree as Germany, so will they be embroiding a third star onto their crest come 20 August?

As this would suggest, Germany are two-times winners of this competition, beating Sweden in the 2003 final in California, before retaining the trophy in Shànghǎi four years later, this time at the expense of Brazil.

Since then though, die Frauenteam’s best run has been to the semi-finals, eliminated by USA in 2015, falling in the last eight both on home soil in 2011 and last time round in France.

Four years ago, Germany cruised through the group phase and swatted aside Nigeria in the round of 16, but their campaign came to an abrupt end, ousted 2-1 by Sweden in the quarter-finals.

On top of their two World titles, Germany are also eight-times European Champions, most-recently achieving this a decade ago, remarkably making it six successive Euro trophies back in 2013.

Their last tournament success came at the 2016 Olympics, capturing Gold for the first time, having picked up Bronze Medals three times previously.

Last summer, Martina Voss-Tecklenburg’s team got to yet another Euros Final, beating Spain, Austria and then France en route, before an extra time defeat to hosts England in front of 88,000 spectators at Wembley.

So, despite having not won a major title for seven years which, for by German standards, is an elongated draught, they do head Down Under as one of the favourites, and rightly so.

Die Frauenteam kick off their bid for World Cup glory on 24 July, meeting debutants Morocco at Melbourne Rectangular Stadium.

After that, they’ll travel to Sydney for a clash with Colombia, before concluding the group stages against Korea Republic in Brisbane.

It would be a major surprise if Germany didn’t win all three games, set to cruise to top spot.

If this is the case, Voss-Tecklenburg’s side will take on Group F’s runners-up in the round of 16, likely Brazil, so the difficulty level would increase significantly rather quickly.

Germany team news

Carolin Simon heartbreakingly suffered an ACL injury in a friendly defeat to Zambia less than a fortnight before the tournament kicks off, meaning she’ll be sidelined for, at least, nine months.

Janina Minge has travelled to Australia as a reserve player, but hasn’t been included in the playing squad, while Paulina Krumbiegel and Tabea Sellner also didn’t make the cut.

Germany′s key players: Lina Magull

Midfield is a real strength for Germany, emphasised by the fact the first two of their key players profiled will be starting alongside each-other at the heart of this team.

Lina Magull has won 71 caps for her country, coming off the bench in their first two matches of World Cup before starting the other three, scoring against both South Africa and Sweden.

She then started five of six matches at Euro 2022, rested for the dead-rubber group game against Finland, scoring against Denmark and Austria before bagging the late equaliser against England in the final.

That is the most-recent of her 22 international goals, but expect that figure to rise Down Under.

At club level, Magull won back-to-back Champions Leagues with Wolfsburg in 2013 and 2014, coming off the bench in the former, also winning two Bundesliga titles and two DFB-Pokals.

She then spent three seasons at Freiburg before moving to Bayern Munich in 2018, scoring 11 times this season as the Bavarian juggernauts regained the league title.

Germany′s key players: Sara Däbritz

Alongside will be the equally impressive Sara Däbritz, who is set to surpass 100 caps during this World Cup.

Despite being a more defensive player, she has scored 19 times for Germany, including two at the 2015 World Cup, three at the 2016 Olympics and three more at the most-recent World Cup, netting against Spain, South Africa and Nigeria four summers ago.

Däbritz started all six Euro 2022 matches, and was a key cog in a side that came so close to glory.

The 28 year old has spent the last three seasons plying her trade in France, first moving to Paris Saint-Germain before switching to fierce rivals Olympique Lyonnais Féminin 12 months ago.

Despite suffering with injury issues earlier on in the campaign, Däbritz made 20 appearances for Lyon, winning the Division 1-Coupe de France double, scoring in the Champions League defeat at Stamford Bridge in March.

Germany′s key players: Alexandra Popp

Alexandra Popp was the joint-top goal-scorer at last summer’s European Championships, scoring six in just five appearances, including both in the semi-final victory over France at Stadium MK.

However, heartbreakingly, she did not get the opportunity to add to this tally in the final, sustaining an injury in the warm-up at Wembley, a last-minute change that proved to be an insurmountable setback on the day.

In all, Popp has scored 61 times in 127 appearances for Germany, starting at the Maracanã seven years ago as her team won Olympic Gold Medals in Rio.

The 32 year old has spent the last 11 seasons with Wolfsburg, winning the Champions League twice, scoring in the 2014 final success, as well as seven Bundesliga titles and ten DFB-Pokals.

This season, Popp scored 24 times in only 34 appearances for die Wölfinnen, helping them reach a sixth Champions League Final since her arrival.

Back in early-June, Popp actually made it 2-0 to Wolfsburg, but Barcelona roared back in the second half, pulling off a remontada and claiming a 3-2 win.

Heading into her fourth World Cup, Popp will be looking to add to her three World Cup goals; it’s very possible that figure will be more than doubled this summer.

Germany′s possible starting line-up for World Cup 2023

Germany′s full squad for World Cup 2023

Goalkeepers

Defenders

Midfielders

Forwards

FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 Group H table