The German Women's national team is about to start her tournament at the 2025 Women's Ice Hockey World Championship in BudweisThe anticipation is great – after the Deutschland Cup The third and final highlight of the Olympic qualification campaign is coming up. The match starts on Wednesday at 11:XNUMX a.m. against Sweden. All German matches and the World Cup final will be broadcast live. live and free on MagentaSport transfer.

The preparation

The German team completed the one-week preparation in Füssen and Budweis and comes out of the warm-up matches with confidence. DEBThe German national team defeated Switzerland 3-2 after extra time – Ronja Hark scored the much-celebrated winner in her 50th international match, after Franziska Feldmeier and Carina Strobel had scored in regular time. In České Budějovice, the German team celebrated a comeback victory against Japan (3-2 after a penalty shootout) – Svenja Voigt brought the German team back from a 0-2 deficit with two goals in regular time, and Luisa Welcke scored the decisive penalty for the 3-2 victory. The mood in the team is good, and they are looking forward to the tournament in České Budějovice.

The staff

Women's national team coach Jeff MacLeod has nominated three goalkeepers, eight defenders, and 14 attackers for the World Cup. Hanna Weichenhain, Alexandra Boico, Mathilda Heine (who was already promoted to the team in Füssen), and Charleen Poindl are four players making their World Cup debut for the women's national team. Nineteen of the 19 players were part of the squad for the last World Cup in Utica, USA. The team is led by captain Daria Gleißner and her assistant captains Laura Kluge and Ronja Hark. A number of personnel changes were necessary during preparation: Nina Christof was injured in the match against Switzerland, and Anna Rose had to withdraw due to illness. Lucia Schmitz was nominated as a replacement.

The opponents

The team, coached by Jeff MacLeod, will kick off their campaign on Wednesday, April 9, at 11 a.m. against Sweden. The German players have fond memories of this opponent, having beaten them 1-0 at the last World Championships in Utica and celebrating a 6-2 victory in Brampton last year. The other opponents are Norway (April 12, 15 p.m.), Hungary (April 14, 11 a.m.), and Japan (April 15, 15 p.m.). The DEBThe German national team has played several times this season – most recently against Norway in a two-nation match in Füssen in December (2-4 and 2-2 on penalties), against Hungary in the decisive Olympic qualifying match in February in Bremerhaven (3-2), and against Japan in World Cup preparations two days ago (1-3 on penalties). The three best-placed teams in Group B advance to the quarterfinals of the World Cup.

The ice hockey enthusiasm in Budweis

In this city of 100.000 inhabitants, the excitement for ice hockey and anticipation of the World Championship can be seen on every corner. 4.200 tickets (day and game tickets) were sold for the opening match against Sweden. This promises a fantastic backdrop for the tournament kickoff! Press interest is also high: Over 100 journalists and photographers have been accredited for the tournament, and nine TV broadcasters worldwide will broadcast the World Championship games – including MagentaSport, which has been promoting the development and visibility of women's ice hockey for years.

The voices before the start of the tournament

Women's national coach Jeff MacLeod: "We're very pleased with our preparations and had good warm-up games against Switzerland and Japan. Now we're looking forward to the World Championship! The players are positively excited; you can see that their concentration has increased day by day as the tournament draws closer. The special World Cup atmosphere in the arena, with the teams, the volunteers, and the press, is obviously giving it an extra boost. We know our opponents tomorrow, Sweden, from previous World Championships and other international matches – the matches are fast-paced, and both teams play a similar style. We're playing against a top team; they want to deliver their best performance on the ice, and we want to, too."

Captain Daria Gleißner: "We prepared well for the tournament in Füssen and Budweis! We were able to win both of our warm-up matches, which of course gives us a certain boost. The mood in the team is good! We are all happy that it is finally starting and are well prepared. We have worked on a few small details here in the Czech Republic. Now we are taking the positive energy and momentum from the season with the successful Deutschland Cup, the successful Olympic qualification, and the good World Cup preparation! We want to crown the season on a positive note."

The game plan DEB-Selection:

Preparation:

03.04.2025 | 15:00 | Germany–Switzerland 3:2 aet (1:0, 0:1, 1:1, 1:0)
06.04.2025 | 15:00 | Germany – Japan 3:2 after extra time (0:2, 1:0, 1:0, 0:0, 1:0)

World Championship:

Preview: The DEBWomen start the World Championships in Budweis