Relieved Inka Grings: ‘The most important message was that of mom’

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Inka Grings (44) is relaxed but a bit tired as she looks back at the World Cup opener the day after the 2-0 victory over the Philippines. “I had a short night because I fell asleep quite late and woke up early.”

The mood among the Germans is good, after all, the Nati have done their duty and won their first victory. Of course she was relieved, Grings said. Victory feels good. “Now I’m happy that we’re in the tournament and that it’s finally starting.”

Speaking to the Swiss journalists on the ground in Dunedin, Grings comments on several topics:

… about the victory against the Philippines:

“I’ve already analyzed the game and looked at some statistics. We were a bit nervous and restless at the beginning, but I think that’s completely normal, because we’re all human. But after that we were confident and we played more patient than usual. Switching sides and making the game faster didn’t work very well, we were often too playful. But the 2-0 is well deserved. It’s unfortunate that we didn’t score enough goals here and there, which didn’t hurt for the rest of the tournament. But you have to be happy with what you have.”

… against World Cup debutant and goalscorer Seraina Piubel:

“She’s a great footballer. Still young, so sometimes a bit restless, but with a lightness and fun on the road that’s nice. She has a lot of speed, a very high willingness to run – and she has a run, which is of course very nice as a trainer. She is increasingly getting into situations where she can show how valuable she is to us. As a coach you sometimes make mistakes and underestimate or overestimate a player. But I had a good hand with her. As a FCZ coach I quickly realized what she was capable of. It’s important that she continues to play with this ease and passion. She has all the conditions for a great career.”

… at the first victory as national coach:

“Of course the win is good, otherwise I would be lying. Anyone who knows me knows I’d rather win than lose, so I slept well. Mainly because some things worked as well as I imagined. But I don’t want to put myself in the foreground. The most important thing is that the team has rewarded itself.”

… to the reactions from home:

“Even before the game, I received a lot of messages and congratulations from Switzerland and Germany. It’s nice to experience the interest and appreciation. After the game, only one message counts, and that’s from mom. She was exhausted. Because she was so nervous, she cleaned the whole apartment. The next time she watches the game in my apartment, I will be clean too (laughs). She is happy that we won and is now flying to New Zealand.”

… to next opponent Norway:

“For me, despite the defeat against New Zealand, Norway is still the top favorite. It will be a very intense game and a very different one in terms of quality, because Norway also has very different types of players, especially attacking. Against New Zealand you saw what their weaknesses are and what they don’t like. It is a difficult and dangerous situation because it can already be a match point for us. We have been warned, but we fly to Hamilton with a big heart.”

… the weaknesses of the Norwegians:

“They had a lot of gaps in their system against New Zealand and allowed a lot. We need to play these spaces perfectly to create chances. We have to play with the same aggressiveness as New Zealand, because they don’t like that. We can only survive if we play aggressively and compactly. If this is the case, Norway must first find solutions against us.”

… to a possible system change:

“We are not doing ourselves a favor if we change the system in every game, because that can also lead to uncertainties. But we will change one or the other in our game, with and without the ball, so as not to be punished by the individual class of the Norwegians. We must not be too hungry against the ball, otherwise it can become dangerous.”

… to Ramona Bachmann and Noelle Maritz, who have already received a yellow card:

“I have a lot of respect for the work of the referees, because they too are under a lot of pressure. But the early yellow card against Ramona really annoyed me. It was the first offense, so I expect more sensitivity in a tournament like this. But Ramona and Noelle are full-fledged professionals and know how to handle the situation. That’s part of the job. And if they get another warning, then it’s a matter of compensating the suspension with the team.”

… for load control in the coming days:

“It’s important that we make substitutions, like with Lia (Wälti), who we didn’t want to play 90 minutes. But I don’t think about it too much. The players are ready, have trained a lot in advance and run a lot more than in previous preparations. Most of them have played with their clubs and are in good physical condition, but still came into the pre-season well recovered. As of now, most players are at 99 percent.”

Source : Blick