European Football Championship | German women's footballers: Sleepless nights after European Championship disaster

The following day, the timing for the German women's soccer team wasn't quite right either. Putting on a brave face at the public training session at the Buchlern sports center wasn't so easy after the lesson learned from Letzigrund in the third European Championship group match against Sweden (1:4). And so, on Sunday, many pained faces could be seen as the players mingled with the 350 people admitted at the edge of the forest in Zurich. The "National Team Fan Club" was happy to sign autographs, some advisors were happy to make contact, but otherwise relatives and friends were busy offering comfort. Defender Sarai Linder, for example, received encouragement from her extended family who had traveled from Sinsheim. Mom and dad, grandma and grandpa, brother and sister – they all hugged a protagonist whose footballing limits were very clearly shown to her during the squandered group victory.

Earlier, national coach Christian Wück had scheduled the first crisis meeting following the heaviest European Championship defeat of all time. His disheveled squad is supposed to have a day off on Monday to get their minds off things; training for Saturday's quarterfinal in Basel doesn't resume until Tuesday. Only superficially, this is plenty of time to address deeper deficiencies. Dark clouds hang over this title quest, which could go down in history as empty talk from Lake Zurich if lessons aren't learned quickly. The margins of maneuver have shrunk significantly.

They slept just "four hours," reported midfielder Sjoeke Nüsken in the only interview on the sidelines. "There will be changes," the 24-year-old added with tired eyes. Further questions were not possible. But more in-depth discussions are needed to better prevent the decline of the back four. Wück's initial reaction sounded too superficial. "We're down now, but we'll get back up again," announced the 52-year-old, whose daring match plan had backfired.

Carlotta Wamser's red card for handball in the 31st minute certainly didn't explain the vulnerability to counterattacks. A cardinal problem since the former youth coach took over is that ball losses come back to haunt the DFB women like a boomerang in the Australian bush.

"There was a string of behaviors that weren't good – we have to work on that," said Wück, adding with a tight lip: "The goal wasn't to concede four goals." For the first time, it was clear from the leading players that their approach might be (too) easily predictable. "Sweden is obviously doing its homework too. We let ourselves get too far out of the game at times," explained goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger, who seemed unsettled. "We simply have to be more patient – and when we do move out, we have to be compact."

Stand-in captain Janina Minge also spoke plainly. "The goals we conceded killed us. The Swedes played cleverly, overloading the flanks – and we didn't really know how to handle it. Everyone knows by now that we play very risky at the back," explained the defensive leader, whose failed control had set up Stina Blackstenius's equalizer (12th minute). The Swedish star striker, who had already enjoyed some space in the 2019 World Cup quarterfinal against Germany, eluded defender Rebecca Knaak, who was overwhelmed by the pace and then released at halftime. The fact that Wück then set up a back three with Kathrin Hendrich, who had only jumped on the European Championship bandwagon at the last moment, illustrated all the defensive problems. The national coach warned against "blaming or stigmatizing certain parts of the team," but personnel and tactical adjustments are urgently needed.

In midfield, a system without a playmaker is ideal for creating compactness. Linda Dallmann disappointed in the first few games – and Laura Freigang, apart from setting up Jule Brand's 1-0 goal in a furious opening phase, once again remained indifferent. Wück has already rejected a complete turnaround: "It's wrong to say we only want to react and destroy." With this team, "we can't just sit back and do nothing going forward: we have the wrong players for that."

The Franconian seems to be counting on confidence in his strengths being restored by the first knockout clash. "We'll shake ourselves up and then go into this quarterfinal with joy and full courage." Apparently, enough German fans share this confidence. While the Swedish camp was enjoying themselves on Langstrasse, Zurich's party mile, black market prices for the eight-time European champions' quarterfinal match skyrocketed that same night. Nothing is lost yet.