The 14 VfL Wolfsburg Women players who have been away with their national teams will return with very mixed feelings after the end of the international break. Sveindis Jonsdottir and her Iceland teammates, for example, missed out on qualification for the 2023 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
Beaten in extra time
The Icelanders were hoping to claim one of the final coveted spots for the World Cup via the play-offs, but their 10 players went down to a painful 4-1 defeat to Portugal in extra time. Jonsdottir played the full match and scored her side’s equaliser.
Over 26,000 fans in Dresden
The German women’s team experienced an enjoyable friendly match against France in Dresden. Just like at the European Championship in the summer, Alexandra Popp scored twice, giving Germany the lead with a powerful header shortly before half-time and doubling the lead at the start of the second half. It finished in a 2-1 victory for the EURO runners-up in front of 26,835 spectators at the Rudolf-Harbig-Stadion. All nine of the She-Wolves in the German squad featured: Merle Frohms, Felicitas Rauch, Kathrin Hendrich, Lena Oberdorf, Lena Lattwein, Svenja Huth, Popp, Jule Brand and Tabea Waßmuth.
Blomqvist on the scoresheet
Rebecka Blomqvist gave Sweden an early lead in their 1-1 draw against Spain. The Blue and Yellow then eased to a 3-0 win over France, with Blomqvist coming on in the 75th minute.
Poland, led by captain Ewa Pajor, won 4-0 against Morocco, with Pajor opening the scoring in the 33rd minute. In their second friendly against Argentina, the Poles came from 2-0 down at half-time to draw 2-2.
The Netherlands, under new coach and former Wolves boss Andries Jonker and with Jill Roord and Lynn Wilms in the starting line-up, lost 2-0 in a friendly against Norway.
