With only a few days left until the 2017 SheBelieves Cup comes to the US once again, VAVEL USA will be previewing the teams that will be competing in this year's tournament and the focus in this article will be on reigning Olympic Gold medalists, Germany.
The two-time World Cup and eight-time European champions have another major tournament coming up in the summer and will look to prepare for that with a win at the SheBelieves Cup against the United States of America and England.
The flanks and the midfield will be Germany's main strength
Germany has an abundance of talented wingers and full backs and these players, based on whoever sees the field the most, can hurt any team in the world. Full backs Pauline Bremer and Tabea Kemme are having outstanding seasons for their club teams, Olympique Lyonnais and 1.FFC Turbine Potsdam respectively, and are expected to be the preferred starting full backs at the SheBelieves Cup. Waiting in the wings, should these two not start all three games, are Anna Blässe and Isabel Kerschowski who are also very talented full backs and wingers for Wolfsburg.
In midfield, Bayern Munich's Sara Däbritz is capable of producing magic from the flanks and with the likes of Bremer or Kemme supporting her on the flanks, the young Bayern winger will cause all sorts of problems for her opponent. Then we come to arguably Germany's best player Dzsenifer Marozsán. The attacking midfielder is in fantastic form for Lyon this season and will to take her club form onto the international stage. If anyone can win games single-handedly for Germany, it will be Marozsán.
Germany's backline will be an interesting selection
With the retirements of Annike Krahn and Sara Bartusiak, the long-time center back partnership for Germany, head coach Steffi Jones will be looking to finalize her new partnership as Germany gears up for 2017 UEFA Women's European Championship. The SheBelieves Cup will be the perfect opportunity to fine tune whoever Jones selects into her first eleven. In any other year, Josephine Henning would be an obvious choice but the experienced defender has not seen that much game time with her club team and may not be 100% match fit. This could lead to Babett Peter and Felicitas Rauch being the preferred choices in the middle of the defense.
The other question currently aimed at Germany's defense is the fitness of VfL Wolfsburg's Almuth Schult. The goalkeeper has returned from injury and may not be completely healthy. If Jones decides to rest Schult, Laura Benkarth is a capable backup and could fill in well for Germany's current number one. However, expect Schult to probably start all three games as Germany tries to find their preferred center back pairing.
Missing in action are some key players for Germany
Even with all of the talent at their disposal, Germany will be missing some established players when they enter the tournament this year. Winger Simone Laudehr has suffered a set back as she tries to come back from a long-term injury while midfield stalwarts Lena Goeßling and Melanie Leupolz are still not fully recovered from their injuries and will stay with their club teams to try and recover in time for Euro 2017. On many national teams, these names would place negative predictions on the team that will be playing without them but Germany have more than enough ability and experience to effectively replace these players and take the title away from reigning champions, the USWNT.
Full Germany squad
Goalkeepers: Laura Benkarth (SC Freiburg), Almuth Schult (VfL Wolfsburg), Lisa Weiß (SGS Essen).
Defenders: Anna Blässe (VfL Wolfsburg), Pauline Bremer (Olympique Lyonnais), Kristin Demann (TSG 1899 Hoffenheim), Kathrin Hendrich (1.FFC Frankfurt), Josephine Henning (Olympique Lyonnais), Tabea Kemme (1.FFC Turbine Potsdam)*, Isabel Kerschowski (VfL Wolfsburg), Babett Peter (VfL Wolfsburg), Felicitas Rauch (Turbine Potsdam).
Midfielders: Sara Däbritz (Bayern Munich), Linda Dallmann (SGS Essen), Sara Doorsoun (SGS Essen), Leonie Maier (Bayern Munich), Dzsenifer Marozsán (Olympique Lyonnais), Alexandra Popp (VfL Wolfsburg).
Attackers: Svenja Huth (1.FFC Turbine Potsdam)*, Mandy Islacker (1.FFC Frankfurt), Lina Magull (SC Freiburg), Anja Mittag (VfL Wolfsburg), Lena Petermann (SC Freiburg).
*As of February 27th 2017, Kemme and Huth pulled out of the tournament due to injury. Verena Faißt (Bayern Munich) and Hasret Kayikci (SC Freiburg) have been called up as their replacements.