That shift has sidelined the kind of independently run women's soccer clubs which used to lead the way in Germany and internationally. Germany was a pioneer of women's soccer in Europe but, after a decade of rapid transformation in the sport worldwide, it hasn't always adapted smoothly.īayern Munich and Wolfsburg fly the flag for Germany in the Champions League, and the Bundesliga is increasingly dominated by clubs with established and lucrative men's soccer teams. Since the last Champions League title for a German club by FFC Frankfurt in 2015, Wolfsburg has reached four finals and lost them all.
Since winning the last of eight European titles back in 2013, the only major tournament win for Germany was the gold medal at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics. The revolution that has made women's soccer an increasingly televised, professionalized sport has also meant Germany's clubs and national teams face ever more pressure from England, Spain and France, not to mention old rival the United States. The run to the final last year in England brought a boom in interest in women's soccer in Germany, where Bundesliga crowds have tripled to an average of nearly 3,000 this season, though that's still well behind the English league. The Germans beat Vietnam 2-1 on Saturday and face Zambia on July 7. Germany will warm up for the World Cup with friendlies against two teams who are heading to the tournament for the first time. Only three players are based abroad, backup goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger and midfielder Melanie Leupolz, both at Chelsea, and Lyon midfielder Sara Däbritz.
Popp is by far the most experienced, with 127 games and 61 goals for her country.
Voss-Tecklenburg’s preliminary squad of 31 players includes 10 from Wolfsburg and five from national champion Bayern Munich. As women's soccer booms around the world, the competition is only getting fiercer for Germany.Ī group containing Morocco, Colombia and South Korea should be relatively comfortable for Germany, which has never failed to reach the quarterfinals at a Women's World Cup. Germany was once the undisputed powerhouse of European women’s soccer - World Cup champion in 20 and still the only country other than the United States to be No.
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