Women

“Looking forward to finally getting started”

Lena Lattwein discusses her preparations with Germany ahead of the team’s first Women’s World Cup game in Australia.

Germany kick off their FIFA Women’s World Cup campaign on Monday with their opening group game against Morocco. In this interview, VfL’s Lena Lattwein gives her thoughts on the conditions Down Under and what Germany are focusing on in their final training sessions. 

Lena Lattwein, how have your first few days been in Australia, and what are the conditions like over there?

Lena Lattwein: “The first couple of days were mainly about getting used to the time difference. We all managed to do that very quickly. We’re in two-person apartments at our headquarters, so it’s like living with roommates to a certain extent. We’ve got table tennis, mountain bikes, an indoor pool and tennis courts available to us, so the conditions all round are great.”

There are only a couple of days to go until the first game. How much are you looking forward to getting started in the tournament?

Lena: “Now it’s really time to get going. Our preparations in Herzogenaurach and in training here have been long. We’ve all been longing for the tournament to start so that we can all get that World Cup feeling. Now we’re looking forward to finally being able to test ourselves against other countries.”

What are you working on in training at the moment and are you ready for the first game?

Lena: “On top of individual tactical content, we’ve been working on attacking topics such as crossing and positioning inside the box. Defensively we’ve been looking at transitions after losing possession and securing the back line. Over the next few days we’ll make our final preparations specifically for Morocco in our first game, and then we can get started.”

Germany’s group fixtures:

  • Monday 24 July, 10:30 CEST: Germany – Morocco 
  • Sunday 30 July, 11:30 CEST: Germany – Colombia 
  • Thursday 3 August, 12:00 CEST: South Korea – Germany