Coach Pia Sundhage is turning up the heat, the competition in the national team is tougher than ever. Do the players feel pressure? Here's what England legionnaires Noelle Maritz and Seraina Piubel have to say.
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- Competition in the national team is fiercer than ever. Noelle Maritz and Seraina Piubel are feeling it too.
- But they also take a positive view of the situation: The best will make it to the European Championships in the end.
- First, however, the matches in the Nations League are on the agenda. The two hope that there will once again be plenty of spectators in the stadium for the match against France in St.Gallen.
Noelle Maritz is an undisputed regular at Aston Villa and has also been a regular in the national team for a long time. Sitting next to her on Monday afternoon will be Seraina Piubel, who moved from FCZ to West Ham last summer, where she alternates between the starting eleven and partial appearances. Piubel also has to fight for every minute in the national team. The fact that competition is fiercer than ever is demonstrated by the fact that long-serving Nati players such as Alisha Lehmann, Coumba Sow and even Sandrine Mauron have not been called up.
"We have certainly gained in quality with the youngsters. That's why you can say we have a really good team," Maritz replies somewhat evasively to the question of whether the current national team is the best one she has ever played in. The 124-time international is also aware that the competition is getting tougher: "You can tell that we're slowly moving towards the European Championships and that only a certain number of players will be there. It's certainly a pressure situation, but it's also positive pressure. That means you have to give everything, show everything and the best players will be there. And that's how it should be."
Piubel agrees and says: "The pressure is there for everyone. We know that football is fast-moving. But I think you have it in your own hands to a certain extent. You have to perform every day, whether at the club or now here at the national team camp. But we're all really looking forward to it and in the end we'll see who makes it."
"Hopefully a lot of spectators will come"
It's clear that whoever is involved now wants to show their best side. France will be a tough opponent in St.Gallen on Friday. "It will certainly be a difficult game. But I think we saw an improvement in our performance in the Nations League from the first to the second game and I hope we can improve once again. Hopefully a lot of spectators will come and create a good atmosphere," said Maritz.
Piubel denies that the growing spectator interest could also increase the pressure to do particularly well: "It's an incentive for us when we see that a lot of people come and want to watch the games. We really appreciate that. It's pure motivation for us."
