In the first international match of the current season, the German women's national team presented itself in good form and achieved second place in the 4-nation tournament in Füssen. The tournament winner was the Hungarian selection.
Two wins, one losse, that is the result after three games at the first meeting of the women's national team in the 2024/2025 season, in which two absolute top highlights await coach Jeff MacLeod's team with the Olympic qualification in February 2025 and the subsequent World Cup in April 2025.
In front of today's encounter with Hungary had the DEBThe German team has already played two games - and won two of them. The three-day tournament opened with a 2-1 win against France, and in the second game of the tournament the German team achieved a clear 8-2 victory against Slovakia.
Therefore, the situation before the final tournament match against the Hungarians was clear: whoever wins is the tournament winner. Accordingly, an exciting exchange of blows developed between the two teams. The German women got off to a better start and took the lead thanks to a power play goal by Emily Nix (6th) and a goal by Laura Kluge (18th).
In the second period, Nicola Hadraschek-Eisenschmid even increased the score to 3:0 - but then the visiting team responded with three consecutive goals before the second break. In the final period, the Hungarians then scored a goal. No matter how hard the German team tried, they were unable to equalize until the end of the game.
Therefore, Hungary won the tournament, the equal points DEBselection ended up in second place in the final standings. Worth mentioning: With 13 hits presented the DEBselection the most successful offensive of the tournament. Striker Laura Kluge was top scorer with seven points (four goals, three assists).
National coach Jeff MacLeod on the game against Hungary: "We were well prepared for today's game and delivered a solid performance over 60 minutes. Of course, we are not happy with how the game went in the end. With a bit of luck and a few small things that we could have done better, we would definitely have achieved a third victory. At this level, you have to play your best game every minute. In any case, we know that we will win these games too if we improve a few areas of our game."
He also commented on the course of the event and the overall tournament performance. MacLeod after the game: "It was a long, intense week for us, in which the intensity and the fight for places in the team were the main focus. We also showed good results in areas such as fitness, where we want to improve. We went into the games with the mentality of constantly wanting to improve and we saw a team that had internalized that. In the first game, we needed a little time to get going. The tournament format enabled us to play against different opponents with different tactical orientations. In that respect, we are satisfied with how the tournament went; all four lines were able to contribute. This is of course important for our evaluation with a view to the upcoming major events."
Results of the women’s national team:
29.08.2024 | Germany – France 2:1 (0:0, 2:0, 0:1)
30.08.2024 | Germany – Slovakia 8:2 (5:1, 2:1, 1:0)
31.08.2024 | Germany – Hungary 3:4 (2:0, 1:3, 0:1)