Klara Bühl caused plenty of problems, set up one goal and scored the winner herself. "She is a world-class player. And I'm delighted when she shows it," said Germany coach Christian Wück after Germany's women beat Japan 2-1 (1-1) in a tough test.
In Bremen, the Bayern Munich player once again made the difference. "She is and remains an incredibly important factor for us and for our game - with the ball, but also without it," Wück stressed.
"She is quick, she is strong in challenges," the 53-year-old continued. Bühl can also strike the ball powerfully with either foot: "I can only keep repeating it: I don't know a male footballer who is as two-footed as she is." Off the pitch, her "cheerful character" played a major role in "the chemistry within the team".
How many goal contributions did Klara Bühl make against Japan?
Against one of the World Cup favourites at the Weserstadion, Bühl first set up Linda Dallmann's equaliser (28th minute) before scoring herself (73rd minute). But the 25-year-old played down her performance. Asked to rate it on a scale of 1 to 10, Bühl said she would lean towards "7 to 7.5": "There was a lot that was good. Even so, I had another two or three chances to score that I couldn't convert."
Bühl felt Germany stood between 6.5 and 7 on the same scale on the road to the 2027 World Cup in Brazil after successful tests against Australia (4-2) and former world champions Japan: "I still see room for improvement, but we have built a good foundation. We are on the right track."