MADRID, 19 Jul. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Group H of the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand will have the German team as the clear protagonist, one of the favorites to fight for the title and whose start should not theoretically pose any problems against modest rivals such as Colombia, South Korea and Morocco.
The German team, number two in the world ranking, is undoubtedly one of the great powers of women’s football, although it has been a decade without savoring a great title at an absolute level and has not managed to shine in recent editions of the World Cup.
Dominant between the end of the first decade of this century, when it won the 2003 and 2007 world titles, Germany, present in all editions, has only been able to be one more time, in 2015, among the four semifinalists, finishing fourth, while four years ago in France, as in 2011, it fell in the quarterfinals against Sweden. In 2013, she lifted her last major trophy, that of her eighth Eurocup, sixth in a row, although in 2016 she was Olympic champion.
The Germans were close to ending that wait last summer at the EURO in England, where despite not showing their best level, they made clear their ability to compete and not forgive their rivals’ mistakes. Only the hostess, and after an extension, could beat them. Now, they want to make up for it in a World Cup where they are once again in the list of candidates.
In addition, the team led by Martina Voss-Tecklenburg, unlike in the last Euro Cup where it was weighed down by injuries and cases of coronavirus, will be able to have its best players this time, which should make it more dangerous in a year where Wolfsburg was about to be crowned European champion, finally victim of the magical comeback of FC Barcelona. A team of physical power and quality, which brings together veterans like captain Alexandra Popp, Ann-Katrin Berger or Lina Magull with new values like Lena Oberdorf and Jule Brand.
Germany starts as the clear favorite in a group where the rest of the teams seem to be fighting hard for the second ticket to the round of 16. By world ranking, 17th, and more experienced, the best placed is South Korea, which faces its fourth World Cup, third in a row, with the aim of being back at the crossroads.
The current Asian runners-up only reached the round of 16 in 2015, while in their last appearance they failed to make it past the group stage after losing all three of their games against France, Norway and Nigeria and scoring just one goal. The team led by Colin Bell is made up practically of players who play in the country, the midfielder Ji So-yun stands out, who has returned to Korea after playing eight years in English Chelsea.
Colombia also aspires to be in the round of 16, the round it reached in 2015, in its second participation after 2011 and which is the best result for a team that was not in France 2019, but which is backed by its status as current runner-up in South America and as the second best in CONMEBOL, ranked 25th in the FIFA ranking.
Colombian soccer wants to grow and a good example is the U-17 world championship runner-up last year, with a narrow defeat against Spain and with a team where the young Linda Caicedo already stood out. The 18-year-old footballer, who joined Real Madrid in 2023, is one of the great talents of the future and will be the great reference for Nelson Abadía’s team, which also has Leicy Santos, an Atlético de Madrid player, and Mayra Ramírez, a forward for Levante who shone last season.
Finally, Morocco, the 72nd in the world, will try to counteract its greater international inexperience and surprise as the men’s team did in the World Cup in Qatar. Debuting in a World Cup and the first Arab team to participate in the tournament, the team led by Reynald Pedros, who led Olympique de Lyon to the conquest of the Champions League in 2018, starts as a theoretical ‘Cinderella’, but will want to show his talent with players like Imane Saoud, Fatima Tagnaout or Ghizlane Chebbak.