"Top, top, top performance": National coach Wück heaps special praise on young wild ones

In the German national team's 1-0 victory in the first leg of the Nations League semi-final against France, fresh talent like Franziska Kett and Camilla Küver impressed. This particularly pleased the national coach. But one thing still bothered Christian Wück.

After the 1-0 victory in the first leg of the Nations League semi-final against France, national team coach Christian Wück particularly singled out the younger national team players. "That was a top, top, top performance for me today," the coach praised FC Bayern's Franziska Kett after the match in Düsseldorf. The left-back, who turned 21 on Friday, was "incredibly stable" in defensive duels and brought pace to the German game, Wück explained.

He also singled out DFB debutant Camilla Küver ("athletically at a very high level") for special praise. He wanted to instill confidence in young players, said the 52-year-old coach, and Küver immediately "repaid him for over 97 minutes and delivered a top performance." The 22-year-old Wolfsburg player impressed in central defense alongside the experienced Kathrin Hendrich.

Wück positively assessed the "experiment" with former Wolfsburg player Jule Brand as a playmaker in central midfield. "We've always said it: Jule does things on the pitch that she simply wants to do, things that aren't prearranged. And she's someone who always really, really likes to move inside from the outside." Therefore, the decision was made to place the nominal Olympique Lyonnais winger "right away in the middle." The 23-year-old Brand is "incredibly intelligent" but still has "room for improvement," Wück said.

While he was largely satisfied with his team's mature performance, the former Bundesliga striker criticized their utilization of opportunities. "It wasn't all rosy today; we still have room for improvement," warned Wück. Efficiency in front of the opposing goal was "a big topic" in the European Championship analysis – "and if you go by that, we didn't make much progress." Despite several top opportunities, only Klara Bühl scored against the French team (79th minute).