Germany's women struggle to overcome tough Israeli defense

Israel 0-Germany 1 HaMoshava Stadium               
               Huth 18' 

Martina Voss-Tecklenburg's charges went into their third qualifying match for the 2023 Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand as the overwhelming favorites and they justified that billing on Thursday night – in every way but the final score.

The national team coach had warned that Germany would face a very robust defensive Israeli side on the outskirts of Tel Aviv – a prediction that would turn out to be spot on. 

Prior to the match, Voss-Tecklenburg told reporters that to counter this defensive strength, Germany's goal would be to get an early lead, and her side came out pressing from the opening whistle. The Israelis soaked up plenty of pressure and in most cases in the first half, Germany's dominance ended at the hosts' penalty area.

The breakthrough looked set to come in the 13th minute after an Israel defender mistimed a tackle as Jule Brand looked to dance along the top of the area. Sarah Däbritz, a reliable penalty taker, made a decent effort from the spot, but Israeli goalkeeper Amit Beilin dove sharply to her left to keep the match level.

Five minutes later, Germany would get the only goal they would need, with Svenja Huth latching onto a long looping pass from Dzsenifer Marozsan in midfield – holding off a pressing defender before finishing. 

Israel's chances were few and came mainly on the counterattack, with the first notable attempt coming in the 35th minute from Sharon Beck, the dual Israeli-German citizen who plays her club football for Cologne of the Bundesliga.

Germany continued to dominate the match in the second half but similarly struggled to produce clear-cut chances on goal. One of the best came in the 53rd minute when after several passes the ball came to Sjoeke Nüsken, but her effort failed to get through the traffic gathered in front of the goal.

Six minutes later Lea Schüller perfectly timed her run to get in behind the Israeli backline after a beautiful through ball from Jana Feldkamp, but the 23-year-old placed it just wide of the right post.

Far from the clear victory that Germany were out for, Voss-Tecklenburg and her charges will take solace in the fact that although it wasn't pretty, they did get the job done. Germany remain top of Group H with nine points from their first three matches. 

Visit to Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial

However, their trip to Israel is far from over, owning to the two countries' shared history. Instead of jetting back home on Friday, the Nationalmannschaft were to stay on for what in some respects would be the more important part of their trip. A small delegation including 4-5 players were scheduled to visit the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial on Friday. 

"For us as Germans, it's a special place that once again makes us more awake and sensitized," said Voss-Tecklenburg in the prematch press conference.

Unlike most of her players, the 53-year-old national team coach has already experienced the haunting remembrance in Yad Vashem of the victims of Nazi atrocities. She has attended the memorial during visits with German youth teams. The entire team is then hoping to explore the historic Old City of Jerusalem – if strict COVID-19 rules allow for it.

On Saturday, the team fly back to Germany to prepare for the return match against Israel on Tuesday.