The relief was clear for all to see at the end. After the final whistle in Brasília the players in the team coached by Horst Hrubesch embraced each other and celebrated making it through to the last four. In spite of the 4-0 result it was a tough game for the Germany Olympic team against Portugal. The floodgates opened just before half-time when Serge Gnabry scored. Lars Bender won the ball with his usual determined approach, Julian Brandt picked out the Arsenal player and Gnabry netted with aplomb.
Seven assists from Brandt
And Brandt continued to shine on the right wing: Again and again he caused problems in the opposition penalty area with some accurate assists and two efforts on goal. Matthias Ginter made it 2-0 from a Brandt corner on 58 minutes. And it got even better: Davie Selke added a third on 75 minutes and Brandt again provided another assist for substitute Philipp Max to round off the scoring on 84 minutes. That was the seventh assist from the blond striker at this Olympic tournament.
Lars Bender was not on the pitch at that point. Up to 71 minutes he gave his all as the driving force in an attacking line of four in the new 4-1-4-1 system before Hrubesch granted him an early finish to his shift. Germany are next in action in the semi-final on Wednesday (18.00 CET). Nigeria or Denmark will be the opponents in Sao Paulo. Another victory would see Germany win silver at least.
The Bayer 04 Women's team coaches remain in place: The Werkself have extended the contract with assistant coach Remzi Kahraman by two years to 2027. The 30-year-old will continue to assist head coach Roberto Pätzold along with fellow assistant coach Friederike Mehring.
Show moreThe head coaches of the U16 to U19 youth teams at Bayer 04 welcome some new faces to the coaching staff for the 2025/26 campaign. Overview of new set-up.
Show moreThe Bayer 04 Women are enjoying their richly deserved summer break up to 23 June following the best Bundesliga season in the club’s history. Six weeks after last season’s final matchday at VfL Wolfsburg (1-3), head coach Roberto Pätzold will welcome his squad for the first training session at the Kurtekotten Performance Centre on Monday morning. There will be a break in the preseason from 20 July to 3 August before training resumes on Monday, 4 August.
Show moreThe Werkself summer timetable is taking shape. The team under head coach Erik ten Hag will play four friendlies following the training camp in Rio de Janeiro (14 to 24 July). Bayer 04 are away to VfL Bochum, Fortuna Sittard and Chelsea. Another friendly is planned for the season opener at the BayArena.
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