Pre-Match Notes: The VfL Wolfsburg Frauen are preparing for the second half of their season. With the Frauen Bundesliga regular season right around the corner, the She-Wolves have one final test game left, this time against Czech club, Sparta Prague. Sparta Prague is currently number two in their regular season standings. Wolfsburg is coming off preseason wins against TSG Hoffenheim and Ajax.

When it came to Wolfsburg’s last test game against Ajax, we got to see two different playstyles from Wolfsburg. In the first half of the match, Wolfsburg was pressing together, creating crosses, and services, and putting heavy pressure on the Ajax defense. Additionally there was great support in the attack and in the box, along with great build-up plays from the Wolfsburg midfield and attack. Control and possession were also good as well. The first half would include players like Fenna Kalma, Riola Xhemaili, Vivien Endemann, and Ewa Pajor.

In the second half, seven players were subbed out, and it was as if Wolfsburg was back to playing like they have in the first half of the season. Instead of the attack and midfield pressing together like in the first half, Wolfsburg were at times opting for long balls and passes, trying to find Pajor and other attacking players to get on the end of them. Like clockwork, those long passes would either be recovered by the goalkeeper or a defender, or Wolfsburg would find themselves offsides. That’s not to say Wolfsburg weren’t creating crosses and services. They were, however there wasn’t enough of a collective press in the attack like in the first half.

It’s very clear that there are two different playstyles going on, however Wolfsburg is the most successful when the team is pressing together in the attack and supporting one another. As we’ve seen in past games, long passes and long balls aren’t always going to work. It may as well be Wolfsburg just giving the ball back to the opposing team on a silver platter. If Wolfsburg wants to be successful in this friendly against Sparta Prague and in the second half of the season, they need to focus on supporting one another in the attack, keeping possession, and making sure players are on the same page.

Line Up Notes

Starting Eleven: Wouldn’t it have been funny if I said, there is none. Anyway we have Merle Frohms in the goal. For defenders Dominique Janssen, Camilla Küver, Nuria Rábano, and Joelle Wedermeyer. In the midfield and attack: Lena Oberdorf, Chantal Hagel, Svenja Huth, Jule Brand, Vivien Endemann and Alexandra Popp.

Lena Oberdorf makes a return to the Wolfsburg team. She has been out for some time due to injury, and recently she was out due to a cold. It’s great to see her back with the team again, and back in the starting eleven.

As for the rest of the line up, it’s good to see Küver and Rábano in the backline. With Küver and Rábano starting, the backline should perform well in this match. I especially like Rábano’s pace on the wing and her recoveries. Rábano is now a permanent starter for Wolfsburg. The rumors were true. Felicitas Rauch has left Wolfsburg and is now going to play for the NWSL club, the North Carolina Courage. At the same time, Wolfsburg has signed a new defender, Diana Nemeth from Hungary. She is available for this match and could come on in the second half.

When it comes to the midfield and attack, I would like to see good connection there, along with good build-up plays. As I pointed out earlier, Wolfsburg is the most successful when they’re pressing together and supporting one another in the attack.

First Half Notes

VfL Wolfsburg 3-0.

Popp is looking good in this match so far. For this match, Wolfsburg is most likely in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Popp settling into that striker position as expected. She scored all three goals in the first half, and while that is great, we need to see other attacking players getting on the scoreboard. The team cannot just rely on Popp all the time to finish and score goals. Many teams, especially in the Frauen Bundesliga, are very familiar with Popp and how she plays. It’s easy for teams to figure out how to shut her down, and because of that we need to see Wolfsburg’s other attacking players getting shots off and finishing as well.

Besides that, Wolfsburg looked good in this first half. There was good control and possession, and good touches and build-up plays between the midfield and attacking players. I’m noticing lots of overlap plays from Wolfsburg as well. Support in the box, looks all right, but there could be a little more. Support in the attack has been good so far with Brand and Endemann coming up the wings and getting in their crosses and services. Both of these players were very active in this half which is great to see.

Going into the second half, I would like to see this support and connection in the attack continue to develop. Additionally, I would like to see Wolfsburg maintain their attacking press and hopefully see other players getting on the scoreboard as well.

Second Half/Closing Notes

VfL Wolfsburg Wins 10-0.

There were a lot of goals in this second half, and many goal scorers as well. Popp got her fourth goal in this half. Hagel managed to get two goals before getting subbed off. Jónsdóttir would get two. Kalma would get one, and Pajor would get one.

I wasn’t expecting Wolfsburg to come away with a big win like this. I expected Sparta Prague to be more of a challenge to Wolfsburg; however, Wolfsburg would go on to dominate Sparta Prague without issue. There was good control and possession, and really great support in the attack. Wolfsburg maintained their attacking press going into the second half, and I didn’t really notice a significant change from the first half, even with the multiple substitutions in the second half. I got a sense the players were on the same page in terms of playstyle and how they wanted to build their attack.

There were a lot of good things in this match attack and midfield-wise, but the challenge for Wolfsburg, going into the second half of their season, is whether the team will be able to maintain a level of consistency with their midfield and attack. Will Wolfsburg be able to maintain consistency with their build-up plays and support in the attack? Will we see consistent control and possession from the team? Will Wolfsburg be able to take these lessons learned from preseason and apply it to their upcoming games? There are many questions that can be raised about this team, but the answers will come in the second half of the season, where the real test begins.