By Oliver Trust
BERLIN, July 25 (Xinhua) -- Ahead of their semifinal against one of the Euro 2022 favorites France on Wednesday, the German squad stands for passionate defending, joyful play, team spirit, and solid determination.
A clean sheet after four rounds of matches might tell parts of their so-far successful story. Rarely has a team spoken that often about their desire to defend while having scored 11 goals in four games.
Sara Dabritz, constantly scanning the pitch for gaps and threatening opponents, might not be an independent source due to her duties.
But the midfielder from 2022 Champions League winners Olympic Lyonnais told the public about her team's paramount discovery.
"The entire team has understood the inevitability of defending starting up front. That's something we seemed to have inhaled," the 27-year-old said.
As doors seem to have opened to create a surprise by reaching the Wembley final, a well-oiled defense seems to be based on a team spirit that developed over the past months coming along with a clear structure in the team and the coaching staff.
Coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg mentioned that "everybody knows their tasks and their responsibility to achieve success" simultaneously applies to coaches and players.
Having tightened procedures in coaching has paid off, as the playing staff benefitted from the changes.
Voss-Tecklenburg, in charge since November 2018, drew her conclusions from disappointing previous tournaments. The coaching staff enjoyed an update along with a head coach not driven by the idea to cover all the topics by herself.
Facing one of women's football's best teams such as France, Germany can count on two extra rest days compared to the French.
Quiet reading hours, and coffee and tea sessions came along with an easy-going biking tour before last Sunday, the squad returned intense training sessions.
"We face a tough opponent with enormous quality and gifted single players," Voss-Tecklenburg said, adding: "But we know we can beat every opponent when we invest all we have and continue as in previous games."
While statistics speak in favor of the Germans, France has to be seen as the superior side at the tournament.
But the four games won by Germany at European Championships and World Cups are a thing of the past in Voss-Tecklenburg's mind when things kick off on Wednesday evening in Milton Keynes. ■