ÖFB Women – Trial against Denmark

The Austrian women’s national soccer team will have its first practice session on Sunday afternoon (1.30pm / ORF1) as part of preparations for the European Championships in England in July. The ÖFB Selection meets the EM Championship player at Wiener Neustadt in a remake of the legendary EM semi-final match from 2017 with Denmark. In terms of staff, ÖFB Team Leader Irene Furman can’t fully count, which is why the score isn’t really ahead.

“Denmark is a really strong opponent and a good indicator for us to assess the current situation. We can look forward to a really great match,” Forman said. The Danes are 15th in the world in the standings ahead of Austria (21), and in their last meeting on August 3, 2017 in Breda, a 3-0 penalty kick in favor of the Danes was the deciding factor. Retired record scorer Nina Berger and record player Sarah Bontegam, who was still missing in the first camp, are the only two players in the starting lineup at the time who will miss Sunday.

The rest have chances to collect minutes of usage this time as well. Almost five years after The Summer Fairy Tale, the standing of most of them has not changed significantly. However, there is a big question mark over the use of the recently ill great striker Nicole Bella, who will be publicly called the “Footballer of the Year 2021” before the match, as well as the two sick players Victoria Schnaerbeck and Laura. Versinger.

“Here you have to work individually,” Foreman said. “We have to see if there is a chance to play on Sunday.” Virginia Kirschberger likely won’t, having fractured her tibia and fibula, is slowly getting acquainted with team training. The situation is different for strikers Stephanie Enzinger and Katja Wenrother, who can complete the entire training program again after recovering from injuries. “That’s a very positive thing,” Foreman said.

However, given the still somewhat uncertain situation with regard to staffing, she doesn’t expect everything to work out straight away in the first of the three EM exams. “It’s about getting back on track and getting used to the level in the sporting field again,” said the 41-year-old. Several players came back from vacation and took a break before the session in terms of training. “It obviously can also be a rough start,” Foreman explained. However, the top score is not the priority.

positive balance

The two teams now meet for the fifth time. Before EM 2017 there was a 4:2 victory in a test at the old Wiener Neustadt. In qualifying for EM 2013 there was a home win – 3:0 in Denmark and 3:1 at the NV Arena. Lars Sondergaard is the coach of the Danes since 2018. He has held various positions in men’s football in Austria in Salzburg Austria, Austria Vienna, GAK, Wacker Innsbruck and Red Bull Salzburg.