Hrubesch, Gwinn, and Freigang still hope to medal after defeat: "It's not over yet."
Freigang - who put in one of her better performances in a DFB-tricot as a substitute - emphasized that the Gerrman Frauen-Nationalmannschaft remained eager to medal in the third place playoff against defending World Champions Spain on Friday.
Even if they weren't able to overcome their historic rivals in their Tuesday semi-final tie of the 2024 Women's Olympic Football Tournament, German women's national team trainer Horst Hrubesch found himself quick to praise his team's performance in his post-match comments with German public broadcaster ARD. The 73-year-old German footballing legend - just as he did following the previous defeat to the USA in the group stage - thought his team played better than the scoreline suggested.
"The goal was missing," Hrubesch remarked in an interview broadcast on ARD's "Sportschau" program, "We had the opportunities. In a semi-final like that, you simply have to score those goals."
Right-back Giulia Gwinn - forced to don the captain's armband after regular squad captain Alexandra Popp fell ill just prior to the match - spoke of an unlucky scene near the end of the match in which a Laura Freigang header was, not entirely intentionally, cleared off the line by USWNT keeper Alyssa Naeher's foot in the 119th. Gwinn also lamented the fact both Popp and prolific lead striker Lea Schüller had to withdraw on short notice.
"[The Freigang scene] was super lucky for the USA and very, very bitter for us," Gwinn noted, "It's [also] never nice when regular players are missing. Whether it's a Poppi [Popp], a Lea [Schüller] or an Obi [Lena Oberdorf] up front. There are a lot of absences that hurt. Nevertheless, we coped with it really well."
Freigang herself conveyed a sense of hurt in her own interview. The 26-year-old has been struggling to find her way back into the national team despite performing well for club. Hrubesch opted to start Freigang's Eintracht Frankfurt teammate Nicole Anyomi in place of Schüller. After Anyomi struggled with her confidence, Freigang entered in the 69th and performed well. The popular German star made a strong case to start in the bronze medal match.
"I think we hardly conceded anything today," Freigang noted, "It's painful. The best thing is that the bronze medal match is in three days' time. Of course we're all crestfallen tonight. One can't digest it that quickly. Now it's all about winning a medal. It's not over yet."