Germany’s 2023 Women’s World Cup campaign kicks off on Monday against debutants Morocco at Melbourne.
GER-W vs MOR-W Match Details
Date: Monday, 24 July 2023
Time: 14:00 (IST) / 18:30 (ACT)
Venue: Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, Melbourne
GER-W vs MOR-W Match Preview
Two times winner of the competition and only ever European nation to have done it, Germany believes they are returning to their past glory after reaching the final of the European Championship last summer. Losing narrowly to hosts England after extra time without Golden Boot Alexandra Popp available for the final, the solid performance they displayed grow confidence in moving away from the down graph they experienced in the last few years. In the previous edition of the finals, Die Nationalelf finished in the quarterfinals even after taking the lead against Sweden in the 2-1 defeat. Prior to that, Germany did not fail to win a game or conceded a goal. Improve in their mentality during the knockouts is what boss Martina Voss-Tecklenburg demands this time. Even more so because Germany has shown a rough patch of form in the warm-ups with a surprise 3-2 loss against Zambia in the send-off game still pinching. The fact they managed to come back from 2-0 down late in stoppage time to lose eventually gives a headache to the manager. Also struggling against Vietnam in the 2-1 victory earlier, Germany might be vulnerable to teams liking to soak up pressure and hit on counters. Something Morocco are masters of as they lock themselves in the opener of a group that also possesses threats like Colombia and South Korea. Not winning the group will be a rather shock for the lot. If the team is filled with talents working in cohesion, anything will be possible for Germany to achieve.
Hoping to pull off an upset or snatch a point, Morocco are entering their debut game of the FIFA Women’s World Cup in full of hearts. The team reached the final of the Women’s AFCON in stunning fashion igniting the support for women’s football in the country and one which also opened the chance to experience this stage for the very first time. They are hoping to replicate their men's team’s miracle of reaching the semifinals of the World Cup last year and while it will be a humungous challenge for the side there is no crime in dreaming. After all, they held higher-ranked participants like Italy and Switzerland to goalless draws in the warm-ups and could do the same to the giants in their group of the finals. The Lionesses of Atlas will hope to spring their surprise against the mighty Germans knowing the issues the opposition faced recently. Voss-Tecklenburg’s side have never suffered defeat in the opener in tournament history so it will be an incredible story if they manage all three points here. Considering the remarkable debut made by most newcomers to the competition after it was increased to 32 nations, Morocco will be inspired to do well relying on their defensive solidity.
Recent Form
GER-W: LWLWD
MOR-W: LDDLL
GER-W vs MOR-W Team News
Midfielder Lena Oberdorf was initially ruled out completely from the tournament opener but is only a doubt now with a thigh strain. Center-back Marina Hegering might be not as lucky as she recovers from an ankle injury. Sara Doorsoun could start in her place. Carolin Simon was ruled out of the competition with an ACL injury picked up in the warm-up games. For Morocco, the entire team will be fit to start the game with Tottenham striker Rosella Ayane leading the line.
GER-W vs MOR-W Predicted Lineups
GER-W: Merle Frohms; Sophia Kleinherne, Kathrin Hendrich, Sara Doorsoun, Felicitas Rauch; Lena Oberdorf, Sara Dabritz; Svenja Huth, Lina Magull, Klara Buhl; Alexandra Popp
MOR-W: Er-Rmichi; Zineb Redouani, Ait El Haj, Yasmin Mrabet, Sabah Seghir; Sakina Ouzraoui, Ghizlane Chebbak, Élodie Nekkach, Imane Saoud; Salma Amani; Rosella Ayane
Also check out Germany Squad for FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 and Morocco Squad for FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023
GER-W vs MOR-W Dream11 Team Prediction
GK: Frohms (7)
DEF: Hendrich (8.5), Huth (8), El Haj (8)
MID: Magull (9), Chebbak (9), Dabritz (8.5), Ayane (8.5)
FW: Buhl (8), Popp (9), Ouzraoui (8)
Vice-captain: Lina Magull
Captain: Alexandra Popp
