German women’s national team: history, players, successes of the DFB women
The German women’s national team reached the final at Wembley Stadium at the 2022 European Championships in England. (Archive image) © Sebastian Christoph Gollnow/dpa
The German women’s national team is one of the best football teams in the world. All information about the history, successes and the squad of the DFB women.
Frankfurt – The German women’s national team is one of the most successful teams in women’s football and doesn’t need to hide behind the men’s teams. When it comes to the number of tournaments won, the German female soccer players are slightly ahead of the men – although the DFB women have not been around that long.
| Association | German Football Association |
|---|---|
| First international match | 10 November 1982 v Switzerland (5-1) |
| Biggest Achievements | Two World Cup victories (2003, 2007) |
| Record national player | Birgit Prince |
| national coach | Martina Voss-Tecklenburg (since 2018) |
German women’s national team: The beginning of a success story – despite resistance
The DFB had forbidden its clubs to offer football for women. It was only on October 31, 1970 that the ban was lifted and women’s football was officially included in the Football Association’s statutes. However, it was not until 1982 that there was an official women’s national team. Gero Bisanz was the first coach of the DFB women’s team to put together a team.
In order to find the necessary players for the DFB women, Bisanz held two courses in the north and south of the country. 30 female soccer players competed to apply for the national team. 16 players remained, who formed the first German women’s national team. On November 10, 1982, they played their first official international match in Koblenz. The Germans won 5:1 against Switzerland in front of 5000 spectators.
DFB women: The first title of the German women’s national team is rewarded with a coffee service
The first title for the German women’s national team was not long in coming. At the final tournament in Germany, the hosts initially beat Italy 4-3 on penalties. The game, which was played in victories, was also the first women’s international football match to be shown live on German television.
The DFB women then met the defending champions from Norway in the Bremer Bridge in Osnabrück, which was sold out with 20,000 spectators. The German team prevailed 4:1 and thus celebrated the first title in the history of the national team. As a bonus, the freshly crowned European champions received a coffee service.
German women’s national team dominates European football championships
Despite the little recognition of the first title win, the German women’s national team picked up where they left off. In 1991, the DFB women defended their European championship title. At the first FIFA Women’s World Cup in China, the German soccer players reached the semi-finals and won the fair play rating. This was followed by six more titles at European level, so that the Germans are record European champions with a total of eight titles.
The performance of the German women’s national team at all UEFA European Championships at a glance:
| Competition | Placement |
|---|---|
| Germany 1989 | European champions |
| Denmark 1991 | European champions |
| Italy 1993 | 4th Place |
| 1995 (no host country) | European champions |
| Norway/Sweden 1997 | European champions |
| Germany 2001 | European champions |
| UK 2005 | European champions |
| Finland 2009 | European champions |
| Sweden 2013 | European champions |
| Netherlands 2017 | Quarterfinals |
| England 2022 | 2nd place |
German women’s national team: DFB women have already won the World Cup twice
But even beyond Europe, the German women’s national team is one of the world’s best. The DFB women reached the final the second time they took part in a FIFA tournament: After victories over Japan (1-0) and Brazil (6-1) in the group phase, a 3-0 win over England in the quarter-finals and the narrow margin After a 1-0 win in the semifinals against China, the German team failed in the final against Norway (0:2).
Eight years later, the DFB women made it big in the USA. After the group stage, the German women’s national team clearly defeated Russia 7:1 and knocked out the hosts 3:0 in the semifinals. In the final, the Germans met Sweden and fell behind just before half-time. However, the DFB selection came out well after half-time and was able to equalize immediately in the person of Maren Meinert. In extra time, Nia Künzer scored the golden goal – and Germany thus won their first world championship title. Four years later they managed to defend their title with a 2-0 win over Brazil in the final.
Four years after successfully defending the title, a World Cup was on the agenda in Germany for the first time and the euphoria surrounding the German women’s national team was correspondingly high. Public interest in the tournament and the DFB women was enormous. Up to 19 million people watched the games on television, and the stadiums were sold out. With three victories in three group games, including a 4-2 win against France, the Germans confidently advanced to the quarter-finals. After a 0:1 after extra time it was over against Japan. After all, the DFB-Elf was eliminated against the eventual world champions: Japan prevailed against the USA in today’s Deutsche Bank Park in Frankfurt .
The results of the German women’s national team at FIFA World Cups at a glance:
| World Championship | Result |
|---|---|
| China 1991 | 4th Place |
| Sweden 1995 | 2nd place |
| United States 1999 | Quarterfinals |
| United States 2003 | world champions |
| China 2007 | world champions |
| Germany 2011 | Quarterfinals |
| Canada 2015 | 4th Place |
| France 2019 | Quarterfinals |
| Australia/New Zealand 2023 | Pending |
The DFB women have also been successful at the Olympic Games. After three bronze medals in 2000 in Sydney, 2004 in Athens and 2008 in Beijing, the German women footballers were crowned Olympic champions at the games in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 – in contrast to the German men’s national team, who had to settle for silver.
DFB women: The successes of the German national team at a glance
Overall, the German women’s national team can therefore look back on a number of successes:
| world title | 2 (2003, 2007) |
|---|---|
| European title | 8 (1989, 1991, 1995, 1997, 2001, 2005, 2009, 2013) |
| Algarve Cup | 4 (2006, 2012, 2014, 2020) |
German women’s national team: the record players
The record player of the German women’s national team is Birgit Prinz. The three-time FIFA world footballer made her debut for Germany on June 27, 1994, and the attacker played her last official game on June 30, 2011. Prinz played in a total of 214 parties. Kerstin Stegemann is second with 191 international matches. Ariane Hingst (174 games) follows in third place. The ten players with the most appearances for the DFB team at a glance (as of July 11, 2023):
- Birgit Prinz: 214 games
- Kerstin Stegemann: 191 games
- Ariane Hingst: 174 games
- Anja Mittag: 158 games
- Bettina Wiegmann: 154 games
- Renate Lingor: 149 games
- Sandra Minnert: 147 games
- Nadine Angerer: 146 games
- Doris Fitschen: 144 games
- Annike Krahn: 137 games
With 128 goals in the national jersey, Birgit Prinz also leads the ranking of the record goalscorers for the DFB women. Second place is taken by Heidi Mohr (83 goals), followed by Inka Grings (64 goals). The ten top scorers of the German women’s national team at a glance (as of July 11, 2023):
- Birgit Prinz: 128 goals in 214 games
- Heidi Mohr: 83 goals in 104 games
- Inka Grings: 64 goals in 96 games
- Celia Sašić (Okoyino da Mbabi): 63 goals in 111 games
- Alexandra Popp: 62 goals in 128 games
- Bettina Wiegmann: 51 goals in 154 games
- Anja Mittag: 50 goals in 158 games
- Silvia Neid: 48 goals in 111 games
- Kerstin Garefrekes: 43 goals in 130 games
- Martina Müller: 37 goals in 101 games
DFB women emerge as runners-up from the EM 2022
The German national team has qualified for the 2022 Women’s European Championship in England. At the tournament, the German team will face Spain, Finland and Denmark in Group B. The team coached by national coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg was able to take revenge with a 4-0 win over the Danes for the quarter-finals at the 2017 European Championships in the Netherlands.
| Date / time | lot |
|---|---|
| Friday, July 8, 9 p.m | Germany – Denmark (4:0) |
| Tuesday, July 12, 9 p.m | Germany – Spain (2:0) |
| Saturday, July 16, 9 p.m | Finland – Germany (0:3) |
A flawless group stage was followed by a 2-0 quarter-final win over Austria and a 2-1 semi-final defeat of France. The final was a prestige duel: however, the German women’s national team was at a disadvantage at Wembley Stadium and lost 2-1 after extra time.
The squad of the German women’s national team for the 2023 World Cup
The next tournament is already scheduled for 2023. National coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg has put together the following provisional squad for the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand:
- Goal: Ann-Katrin Berger (Chelsea FC), Merle Frohms (VfL Wolfsburg), Stina Johannes (Eintracht Frankfurt)
- Defence: Sara Doorsoun ( GTI ), Marina Hegering (VfL Wolfsburg), Kathrin Hendrich (VfL Wolfsburg), Sophia Kleinherne (Eintracht Frankfurt), Felicitas Rauch (VfL Wolfsburg), Sjoeke Nüsken (Eintracht Frankfurt), Chantal Hagel (VfL Wolfsburg)
- Midfield/Forward: Nicole Anyomi (Eintracht Frankfurt), Jule Brand (VfL Wolfsburg), Klara Bühl (FC Bayern Munich), Sara Däbritz (Olympique Lyon), Laura Freigang (Eintracht Frankfurt), Svenja Huth (VfL Wolfsburg), Lena Lattwein ( VfL Wolfsburg), Melanie Leupolz (Chelsea FC), Sydney Lohmann (FC Bayern Munich), Lina Magull (FC Bayern Munich), Lena Oberdorf (VfL Wolfsburg), Alexandra Popp (VfL Wolfsburg), Lea Schüller (FC Bayern Munich)
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