VfL Wolfsburg Women face a potentially decisive clash against AS Roma at the AOK Stadion on Wednesday 11 December when they host the Italian outfit on Matchday 5 of the UEFA Women’s Champions League (kick-off 18:45 CET). If head coach Tommy Stroot’s side manage to win by a big margin they could even book their place in the quarter-finals with a game to spare.
At the pre-match press conference, Stroot spoke about...
…team news: “Lisa Schmitz hurt her shoulder in training yesterday and had to cut the session short, so she’s definitely out for this game. Caitlin Dijkstra made her debut in Leverkusen but she’s not available for this Champions League group phase because we weren’t able to register her. That wouldn’t be the case if we were to make it to the quarter-finals.”
…Jule Brand: “She’s trained fully over the last two days and is fit again. She’s an important member of our team and I’m pleased that she’s back again after her injury.”
…the opposition: “It feels like a last-16 fixture, so we’re prepared for all eventualities. We’re assuming there will be periods during which Roma will sit back and want to pounce on the counter. But I don’t think they’ll do that over the full 90 minutes because they’ll also want to make their presence felt in possession. We’ll need to be able to adapt to that. We’re prepared and ready for different scenarios over the course of the game.”
Kathy Hendrich on…
…what it would mean to reach the quarter-finals: “As individuals, as a team and as a club, it’s always our aim to be in the Champions League for as long as possible. Playing in Europe is as big as it gets for the club and for German women’s football. My own objectives are in addition to that, and I personally want to be in the competition for as long as possible.”
