Germany book 2023 World Cup ticket

Turkey 0-3 Germany
(Rauch pen 57, Bühl 59', Schüller 77')
Timsah Arena

Hard work? That wasn't the case for Sara Doorsoun in the World Cup qualifier against Turkey, but it was for her team.

In their first match since the European Championship final defeat by England in London, Doorsoun & co. had to deal with a tenacious Turkish defense. Turkey's mission was to be harder to beat than in November last year, when they were thrashed 8-0 in Germany.

This time in front of their own fans in Bursa, Turkey held firm until the 57th minute, when Germany eventually found a way through. There were rarely any forays forward by the home team; only a few long balls forward that Doorsoun plucked from the sky with ease.

'I know my role in the team'

The match in Turkey was definitely something special for the 30-year-old. "My mother is Turkish, I come here every vacation. This is my second home," she said before the game. The daughter of an Iranian father and Turkish mother, she was born in Cologne. She has been playing for the German team for six years and rose through the youth teams with fellow veteran Alexandra Popp.

Recently though, she has been displaced in central defense by Marina Hegering and has often only been a substitute for coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg. "I know my role in the team," Doorsoun said of that situation, "but I also want to give my best performance in every game so the national coach knows she can rely on me."

However, the game against the Turks, who didn't dare cross the halfway line for almost the entire match, provided little opportunity for Doorsoun to shine. She often carried the ball forward from defense to instigate attacks, and she handled these tasks easily.

Further forward, her teammates struggled for a long time to dislodge the Turkish bus that was parked in front of the goal. Promising attacks often came from the right side, but space was at a premium in Turkey's penalty area.

'Nice sign that we are one unit'

It took a penalty kick to break the deadlock. A cross from Linda Dallmann touched Busem Seker's arm, and Felicitas Rauch safely converted the penalty kick. Shortly after, Klara Bühl doubled the advantage, with Lea Schüller coming off the bench to finish a beautiful attack through the middle for a deserved 3-0 final score.

The German women, five points clear at the top of Group H with a game to play, have thus booked their World Cup ticket for Australia and New Zealand. The dress code for the tournament, which starts next July, was also on display in Turkey: the players presented the new DFB jersey for the first time, an identical design for the men's and women's national teams.

Doorsoun was a fan. "Very nice jersey," she said, "and a nice sign that we are one unit: Women's and men's national team."

This article was translated from German

Correction, September 4, 2022: A previous version of this article misspelled the names of Marina Hegering and Busem Seker. DW apologizes for the error.