Melissa Kössler capped a perfect night on international duty to the sounds of "Major Tom" and Wolfgang Petry, then followed her two goals with a clear statement of intent. Her target for the coming year? "The World Cup - that’s crystal clear. It would be a lie if you didn’t admit that," said the 26-year-old with a broad grin. Her display in Germany’s convincing 4-2 (2-1) win over Australia could hardly have been a better audition, and even the national coach looked impressed.
"If you want to sum it up briefly and succinctly, she took her chance," said Christian Wück. "If you score two goals as a centre-forward, if you perform like that in the challenges, shield and distribute the ball, then that is exactly what we need in our system of play. She will put the other centre-forwards we have in the squad under real pressure." Nicole Anyomi, who is supposedly higher up in the pecking order, and the ill Lea Schüller will have to make an effort.
With Giovanna Hoffmann still sidelined by a cruciate ligament tear, the national coach is not yet completely satisfied with his options at centre-forward. "We do have a certain number of alternatives. But yes, at the moment there is still room for improvement," Wück said with next year’s World Cup in Brazil (24 June to 25 July) in mind. Kössler made her case on Friday evening in Karlsruhe with goals in the 23rd and 30th minute.
"I’m very, very happy," said the Potsdam-born forward after her flying start to the World Cup season. In January, the 2017 European Under-17 champion swapped TSG Hoffenheim for Denver Summit FC in the American NWSL and has taken the next step in her development there. "It’s a faster game, very direct," Kössler explained. She said she had already gained "a great deal of experience and robustness" there.
Some observers even saw parallels with her idol Thomas Müller. "Still my role model. Cool footballer," she said on ARD. "Whether I’ve copied that more closely now, I don’t want to say." Either way, her style of play gave Germany a lift. The further goals from Camilla Küver (83rd minute) and Sjoeke Nüsken (90+4) capped a mature team performance, even if Wück felt his side made too many "avoidable mistakes".
That showed in the goals from Samantha Kerr (45+1) and Holly McNamara (90+2), which left the game more open than it needed to be. Germany now want to tighten that up as early as Tuesday (5.45pm/ARD) in Bremen against Asian champions Japan. "It will certainly be another game that is just as tight and close," Wück said. "The Japanese play completely differently from the Australians."
For Kössler, the next step is to keep pushing her case. The World Cup dream is "huge", according to the forward: "But yes, I’m living a little from day to day, from camp to camp, and trying to do my best."