March 16 – The German Football Association has parted ways with national women’s team coach Steffi Jones, following a disappointing SheBelieves Cup in the United States. Horst Hrubesch (pictured) will succeed her on an interim basis.
The Germans have long had a strong pedigree in women’s football, but results under Jones had been disappointing. Last summer her team was knocked out at Euro 2017 by Denmark in the quarter-finals.
At the SheBelieves Cup in the United States, Germany failed to register a single win. After a surprise loss to Iceland in World Cup qualifying last October, the pressure has steadily grown on Jones. Not only the results, but also the manner of performance were discouraging.
In a statement, the DFB outlined that the decision had been taken after a thorough analysis of the team’s performance over the past several months. “The decision followed an intensive analysis of the previous months,” said Oliver Bierhoff, the DFB’s director of national teams and football development.
“Steffi Jones approached her job as coach with a great deal of commitment and dedication. For this, I thank her in the name of all of the members of the board… I would welcome her further involvement in the DFB and women’s football in some other function,” said DFB President Reinhard Grindel.
Horst Hrubesch will take over as head coach of the women’s team on an interim basis. Germany face the Czech Republic and Slovenia in the next month’s World Cup qualifiers. Hrubesch is a member of the DFB’s presidential board and a former coach, who led Germany’s men to a silver medal at the Rio Games in 2016.
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