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Contents • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • History [ ] Early history [ ] In 1955, the decided to forbid women's football in all its clubs in. In its explanation, the DFB cited that 'this combative sport is fundamentally foreign to the nature of women' and that 'body and soul would inevitably suffer damage'. Further, the 'display of the body violates etiquette and decency'. In spite of this ban, more than 150 unofficial international matches were played in the 1950s and 1960s. On 30 October 1970, the ban on women's football was lifted at the DFB annual convention.
Other football associations had already formed official women's national teams in the 1970s, the DFB long remained uninvolved in women's football. In 1981, DFB official was invited to send a team to the. Schmidt accepted the invitation but hid the fact that West Germany had no women's national team at the time. To avoid humiliation, the DFB sent the German club champions, who went on to win the tournament. Seeing a need, the DFB established the women's national team in 1982. DFB president Hermann Neuberger appointed, an instructor at the Sports College, to set up the team.
1982–1994: Difficult beginnings and first European titles [ ] In September 1982, Bisanz organised two scouting training courses from which he selected a squad of 16 players. The team's first international match took place on 10 November 1982 in. Following the tradition of the men's team, was chosen as West Germany's first opponent. Doris Kresimon scored the first international goal in the 25th minute. In the second half, 18-year-old contributed two goals to the 5–1 victory; Neid later became the assistant coach in 1996 and the head coach in 2005. With five draws and one defeat, West Germany failed to qualify for the inaugural, finishing third in the qualifying group.
In the beginning, Bisanz's primary objective was to close the gap to the countries and – then the strongest teams in Europe. He emphasized training in basic skills and the need for an effective youth programme. Starting in 1985, Bisanz increasingly called-up younger players, but at first had little success with this concept, as West Germany again failed to qualify for the finals. Undefeated and without conceding a goal, the German team qualified for the for the first time in 1989; the tournament was played on home soil in West Germany. The semi-final against Italy was the first international women's football match shown live on German television.
The game was decided by a, in which goalkeeper Marion Isbert saved three penalty kicks and scored the winning penalty herself. On 2 July 1989 in, West Germany played in the final. Before a crowd of 22,000, they beat favourites Norway and won 4–1 with goals from Ursula Lohn, and Angelika Fehrmann. This victory marked the team's first international title. After the, the football association joined the DFB. The East German women's national football team had played only one official international match, losing 0–3 to Czechoslovakia in a friendly match on 9 May 1990.
The unified German team defended their title successfully at the. After winning all games in the qualifying group, Germany again met Italy in the semi-final, this time winning 3–0.
On 14 July 1991, the German team once more faced Norway in the final. The game went to extra time, during which Heidi Mohr and Silvia Neid scored for Germany and secured the 3–1 victory. In November 1991, Germany participated in the first in China.
Following victories over, and Italy, the German team reached the quarter-final without conceding a single goal. Silvia Neid scored the first German World Cup goal on 17 November 1991 against Nigeria. Germany won the quarter-final against Denmark 2–1 after extra time, but lost 2–5 in the semi-final to the, who went on to win the tournament. Following a 0–4 defeat in the third-place match against, Germany finished fourth in the tournament. The German team failed to defend their title at the, suffering a semi-final defeat to Italy in a penalty shootout, and later losing 1–3 against Denmark in the third-place playoff. Despite the disappointing result, new talents such as, and made their tournament debut and later became key players for the German team. 1995–2002: Olympic and World Cup disappointments [ ] scored in a major tournament for the first time in 1995.
In 1995, Germany won its third. After winning all qualification matches, scoring 55 goals, the German team defeated 6–2 over two legs in the semi-final.
Germany met Sweden in the final, which was played at the in, Germany, on 26 March 1995. The Swedish team managed to score early, but Germany came back to win 3–2 with goals from Maren Meinert, and. At the in Sweden, the German team lost against the Scandinavian hosts, but still succeeded in winning their group by beating and. Germany won the quarter-final against England 3–0, and defeated 1–0 with a late goal by Bettina Wiegmann in the semi-final. On 18 June 1995 in, the German team appeared in their first Women's World Cup final.
Facing Norway, they lost the match 0–2, but as runners-up achieved their best World Cup result until then. Women's football was first played as an Olympic sport at the. Bettina Wiegmann scored the first Olympic goal in the opening match against Japan, which Germany won 3–2. After losing their second group game against Norway 2–3, and drawing with Brazil 1–1, Germany was eliminated, finishing third in the group with four points from three matches. Head coach Gero Bisanz resigned after the tournament and his assistant since 1983,, took over as the new national coach. Silvia Neid ended her playing career and was appointed the new assistant coach.
The was the first test for new coach Theune. Following a defeat against Norway, Germany finished second in the qualifying group and only secured qualification by beating in a relegation play-off. After drawing with Italy and Norway, a victory over Denmark in the last group game saw the German team go through to the knockout stage. They beat Sweden 1–0 in the semi-final, and on 12 July 1997, claimed their fourth European championship with a 2–0 win over Italy, with goals from and Birgit Prinz. At the in the United States, the German team also failed to qualify directly, but managed to beat the in a qualifying play-off.
Germany started their World Cup campaign by drawing with Italy and winning 6–0 over. In the last group game, Germany drew 3–3 against Brazil; by conceding a last minute equalizer, Germany failed to win the group and subsequently had to face the hosts in the quarter-final.
With 54,642 people in attendance, among them U.S. President, the crowd at the was the biggest the German team had ever played in front of. Despite leading twice, they lost 2–3 to the eventual World Cup winners. Germany competed at the, winning all three group games against, Brazil and Sweden. The German team dominated the semi-final against Norway, but lost the game 0–1 after an by in the 80th minute. They beat Brazil 2–0 in the third place match with goals from Birgit Prinz and, and won the bronze medal.
It was the first Olympic medal for the German Football Associations since 1988 when the men's team also won bronze. In 2001, Germany hosted the. Following victories over Sweden, and England in the group stage, the German team beat Norway 1–0 in the semi-final courtesy of a diving header.
On 7 July 2001 in, they met Sweden in the final, which was played in heavy rain. The game was scoreless after 90 minutes and went to extra time, where scored a and secured the fifth European title for Germany. 2003–present: Two consecutive World Cup titles [ ]. Germany playing in the final.
At the in the United States, Germany was drawn in a group with, Japan and. After winning all three group games, the German team defeated Russia 7–1 in the quarter-final, which set up another clash with the United States. Germany's scored after 15 minutes and goalkeeper Silke Rottenberg made several key saves. In the dying minutes of the semi-final, Maren Meinert and Birgit Prinz sealed the 3–0 win.
On 12 October 2003, Germany met Sweden in the World Cup final in Los Angeles. The Scandinavians went ahead before half time, but Maren Meinert equalized shortly after the break. The game went to extra time, where headed the winning golden goal in the 98th minute to claim Germany's first Women's World Cup title.
Birgit Prinz was honoured as the tournament's best player and top goalscorer. With wins over China and Mexico, the German team finished first in their group at the. They beat Nigeria 2–1 in the quarter-final, but suffered a 1–2 semi-final loss to the United States after extra time. In the third place match, Germany defeated Sweden 1–0 with a goal by Renate Lingor, winning the teams's second Olympic bronze medal. The was held in England. With wins over Norway, Italy and in Round 1, the German team advanced to the semi-final, where they defeated 4–1.
On 19 June 2005, they met Norway for the third time in the European championship final. Germany won 3–1 with goals from, Renate Lingor and Birgit Prinz and added a sixth European title. Head coach Tina Theune stepped down after the tournament and her assistant Silvia Neid took over as national coach. In 2006, Germany won the annual for the first time. Saved a penalty in the final. As reigning world champion, Germany played the opening game at the in China, outclassing Argentina 11–0.
After a goalless draw against England and a 2–0 win over Japan, the German team defeated 3–0 in the quarter-final. They beat Norway by the same result in the semi-final, with goals from, and a Norwegian own goal.
On 30 September 2007, Germany faced Brazil in the World Cup final in. Birgit Prinz put Germany in front after half time and goalkeeper saved a penalty by Brazilian.
Scored a second goal after 86 minutes, which sealed the German 2–0 victory. Germany was the first team (men's and women's game) to win the World Cup without conceding a goal and the first to successfully defend the Women's World Cup title.
With 14 goals, Prinz became the tournament's. In a replay of the 2007 World Cup final, the German team drew 0–0 with Brazil in the opening game at the. They then beat both Nigeria and North Korea to advance to the quarter-final, where they defeated Sweden 2–0 after extra time. In the semi-final, Germany again met Brazil. Birgit Prinz scored in the 10th minute, but the German team lost 1–4 after conceding three goals to Brazilian counter-attacks in the second half. They beat Japan 2–0 for the bronze medal, with scoring both goals.
The third consecutive semi-final loss at the Olympics was seen as a disappointment by both the players and the German press. The team's overall performance and head coach Silvia Neid were harshly criticised in the media. Germany qualified for the in Finland winning all eight games and scoring 34 goals. They beat Norway, France and Iceland in the group stage to advance to the quarter-final, where they won 2–1 against Italy. After trailing Norway at half-time in the semi-final, the German team fought back to a 3–1 victory. On 10 September 2009, they defeated England 6–2 for their seventh European trophy. Birgit Prinz and Inka Grings scored twice, with and also scoring.
Grings retained her award as the tournament's top scorer from 2005, while Germany extended their winning streak at the European Championship finals to a 19-match run dating back to 1997. Calmly slots a beyond at the, to inflict Germany's first ever defeat by England In 2011, Germany was host of the. The German team won the three games on the group stage, over Canada, France and Nigeria. On the quarterfinals, the team suffered an upset by Japan, who won on overtime with a goal.
The defeat broke the Germans' streak of sixteen undefeated games at the World Cup. By failing to finish among the top two UEFA teams, Germany was unable to qualify for the. At the in Sweden, the Germans won their sixth straight continental title, with the decisive game being a 1–0 victory over Norway.
Goalkeeper Nadine Angerer, who stopped two penalties during the final, was chosen as the tournament's best player. The had Germany again reaching the top four. In the semifinal against the United States,, who wound up as the tournament's top scorer, missed a penalty, and afterwards goals by and lead to an American victory. The third place match saw the Germans lose their first ever match to England after 21 contests, due to a penalty kick by during extra time. Tournament record [ ] World Cup [ ] Germany is one of the most successful nations at the, having won the tournament twice and finishing runner-up once. The German team won the World Cup in 2003 and 2007.
At the first World Cup in 1991, they finished in fourth place. In 1995, Germany reached the World Cup final, but were defeated.
The team's worst results were quarter-final losses to the in 1999, and in 2011. Overall, the German team has appeared in three Women's World Cup finals, and is a five-time semi-finalist. They have participated in every Women's World Cup and have a 26–5–8 win–draw–loss record. Year Result Matches Wins Draws* Losses GF GA Fourth Place 6 4 0 2 13 10 Runners-up 6 4 0 2 13 6 Quarterfinal 4 1 2 1 12 7 Champions 6 6 0 0 25 4 Champions 6 5 1 0 21 0 Quarterfinal 4 3 0 1 7 4 Fourth Place 7 3 2 2 20 6 Total 7/7 39 26 5* 8 111 37 *Denotes draws including knockout matches decided on. **Gold background colour indicates that the tournament was won. ***Red border color indicates tournament was held on home soil.
Olympic Games [ ] Women's football debuted at the and scored the first Olympic goal in the opening game of the tournament. However, Germany failed to progress to the knockout stage and was eliminated after Round 1. Four years later the German team won the bronze medal at the. They again finished third at both the and the. The German team has qualified for all until 2008. However, they failed to qualify for the as UEFA used the 2011 World Cup for qualification, and Germany ended below and.
The German team beat Sweden in the Olympics final in Rio in 2016 to obtain their first Olympic gold medal. Year Result Matches Wins Draws Losses GF GA Round 1 3 1 1 1 6 6 Third Place 5 4 0 1 8 2 Third Place 5 4 0 1 14 3 Third Place 6 4 1 1 7 4 Did Not Qualify Champions 6 4 1 1 14 6 Total 5/6 25 17 3 5 49 21 European Championship [ ] Germany failed to qualify for the first two in 1984 and 1987. Since 1989, the German team has participated in every tournament and is the record European champion with eight titles. Germany has won the last six consecutive championships and has an overall 31–6–3 win–draw–loss record. The worst German result at the European championship finals was finishing fifth in 2017.
Year Result Matches Wins Draws* Losses GF GA **** Did not qualify – – – – – – Did not qualify – – – – – – Champions 2 1 1 0 5 2 Champions 2 2 0 0 6 1 Fourth Place 2 0 1 1 2 4 Champions 3 3 0 0 14 4 Champions 5 3 2 0 6 1 Champions 5 5 0 0 13 1 Champions 5 5 0 0 15 2 Champions 6 6 0 0 21 5 Champions 6 4 1 1 6 1 Quarterfinals 4 2 1 1 5 3 Total 10/12 40 31 6* 3 93 24 *Denotes draws including knockout matches decided on. **Gold background colour indicates that the tournament was won. ***Red border color indicates tournament was held on home soil. ****Missing flag indicates no host country; tournament was played in two-leg knockout rounds (with the exception of the 1995 final). Coaches [ ] Former German international is the current head coach of the German women's national football team. The coach's official title is DFB-Trainer and he or she is employed by the German Football Association. • Gero Bisanz was the first coach of the women's national team.
He selected his first squad in September 1982. At the same time, he also worked as the chief instructor for DFB coaching training from 1971 to 2000. Bisanz led the German team to three in 1989, 1991 and 1995. Under Bisanz, Germany also was runner-up at the.
He resigned after the German team was eliminated in Round 1 at the. With his assistant since 1983, Tina Theune, he built a scouting system and was responsible for a new DFB youth programme. • Tina Theune took over as head coach after the 1996 Summer Olympics. She was the first woman to acquire the highest German football coaching license.
Theune was responsible for three European Championship titles in 1997, 2001 and 2005. During her time as head coach, Germany won the bronze medal at the and. Her biggest success was the title. Theune is the most successful national coach to date. She benefited from an effective youth programme and integrated several Under-19 players into the nation team. Theune stepped down after winning the European Championship in 2005. • Silvia Neid was the team's assistant coach from 1996 to 2005 and the head coach of the German Under-19 team, who won the.
In July 2005, she became the team's head coach and the 2006 marked her first tournament win. By winning the, Neid became the first German national coach (men's and women's team) to win the World Cup at the first attempt. At her first Summer Olympics as a coach in 2008, Germany won the bronze medal for a third time. Neid was also responsible for Germany's seventh European Championship in 2009.
She was signed until 2016, and her assistant was Ulrike Ballweg. • On 30 March 2015, DFB announced that Steffi Jones would become the new German head coach in 2016. Germany playing before a crowd of 44,825 in. In the 1980s and 1990s, home matches were mostly played in smaller towns with no professional football clubs. As the team became more successful, especially after the World Cup win in 2003, the number of spectators rose accordingly.
Today, the team usually plays in stadiums with 10,000 to 25,000 seats. The ten largest German cities have only hosted five international matches. The team have played twice in and Berlin, and once.,,,,, and have never hosted an international match of the women's team.
Outside Germany, they have played the most games in (10 matches), and, China (six matches), the host cities of the annual and the respectively. They have also played five games in, Portugal (also an Algarve Cup venue), and four times in in the United States. The record attendance for Germany was 73,680 in the opening game against at the in Berlin. That game also set a new European record in women's football. Away from home, the team's crowd record was 54,642 in the quarter-final against the at the in.
Emblem for the The German women's national football team wears white shirts with black shorts and white socks, following the tradition of the – black and white are the. The current change kit is red and black, with black shorts and red socks. In the past, Germany also used green shirts with white shorts and green socks as the away kit. The women's national team originally played with the emblem of the German men's team, a variation of the DFB logo with the Federal Eagle of Germany ( Bundesadler) and three for the men's, and titles. Since their first win in 2003, the team displays its own World Cup titles; initially with one star, and since 2007, with two stars at the top of the emblem.
While being reigning world champions, Germany also displayed the newly created 'FIFA Women's World Champions Badge' on their shirts from 2009 until 2011 when they were succeeded by Japan. Verse of the on the collar. In accordance with the rules of the, Germany does not wear its official uniform with the logo of the German Football Association while competing at the Summer Olympics. Instead, the DFB badge is replaced by the.
Like all DFB squads, the women's national team is supplied by, which had provided a specifically designed female football jersey since 1999. The team's main sponsor is the German insurance company.
Acceptance and popularity [ ] For most of the 20th century, women's football was a niche sport in Germany and was frowned upon. When the DFB appointed to coach the newly founded women's national team, he was initially very reluctant about his assignment and feared it would harm his reputation. Winning the was the team's first international success, but it had little lasting effect on their popularity.
As a gift for the first European trophy, every player received a, which is often cited as an example of male chauvinism and general lack of interest in the women's national team at that time. This attitude within the German Football Association has changed considerably in the last two decades, in particular during the term of as DFB president, an outspoken supporter of women's football. Each member of the squad received a prearranged bonus of 15,000 for winning the tournament; four years later the players received 50,000 euros for their successful title defense. In 2009, one million of the 6.7 million DFB members were female.
The 2003 World Cup title marked the breakthrough for the women's national football team in Germany. The final was watched by 10.48 million viewers on German television (a 33.2 percent market share) and the German team was welcomed home by almost 10,000 fans. Later that year, they were honoured as the 2003. 's World Cup winning was voted Germany's 2003, the first time the award was won by a female player. Since 2005, almost all of the women's national football team's matches have been shown live on German television. Arrival in after winning the The final of the was seen by 9.05 million television viewers (a 50.5 percent market share). After the team returned to Germany, they were celebrated by a crowd of 20,000 in Frankfurt.
In December 2007, all players of the World Cup squad received the (Silver Laurel Leaf), the highest for athletes in Germany. National coach was awarded the by German president. In 2009, the team's six home matches had an average attendance of 22,753. In a survey of German football fans, 65 percent of the male and 62 percent of the female respondents said they were interested in women's football.
However, this popularity is mostly limited to international matches. Although the number of spectators in the has more than doubled since 2003, the average attendance in the (887) was still less than three percent of that of the (38,612). Today, women's football is socially accepted in Germany, although one of the main points of criticism remains the alleged lack of quality compared to the men's game. The German women's national team has played several exhibition matches against male teams, most notably losing 0–3 to the Under-17 squad in preparation for the 2003 World Cup. Most German players dismiss comparisons between the quality of men's and women's football; has said they are 'two entirely different sports'. Players such as, and have stated that men's football is played at a much faster pace, but also has more interruptions and brutal tackling than the women's game.
Has said she generally prefers to watch men's football. Results and fixtures [ ] 2016 [ ].
V 4 September 2018 v Team [ ] Current squad [ ] The following players were named to the squad for the matches against on 24 November 2017. Caps and goals as of 24 November 2017. Head coach: 0# 0 Pos.