*This story was originally published by Deutscher Hockey-Bund*

National coach Janneke Schopman has announced the squad for the German women's national team for the World Championship in Belgium and the Netherlands (August 15-30). The squad includes 13 World Championship debutants and four players who have not yet played in a major tournament.

Linnea Weidemann, Hanna Rothländer, Jette Fleschütz, and Sonja Zimmermann were already part of the women's national team at the 2022 World Championship in the Netherlands and Spain. Lena Micheel and goalkeeper Nathalie Kubalski participated in both the 2022 and 2018 World Championships. Lucina Von Der Heyde also played in the 2018 World Championship in England, though at that time representing Argentina. Furthermore, Friederike Heusgen, Yani Zhong, Finja Starck, and Lynn Krings will be playing their first major tournament for the women's national team in August. Of the 18 players nominated for the European Championship in Mönchengladbach last year, 14 remain in the World Championship squad. The team is led by captains Linnea Weidemann and Lisa Nolte.

The German women's national hockey team (DANAS) enters the World Cup as European Championship runners-up and will face Scotland (August 15, 11:30 a.m.), Argentina (August 17, 5 p.m.), and the USA (August 19, 2 p.m.) in the group stage. The German team will play all group matches at the newly built Belfius Hockey Stadium in Wavre, Belgium. A change of venue to Amstelveen, Netherlands, is possible for the knockout stage. All German matches will be broadcast live and free of charge on MagentaTV.

Coach Janneke Schopman said regarding the nomination: “The nomination for the World Championship was an extremely close decision, as all the players have shown very good development and performance in the Pro League. Our World Championship squad is young and full of energy, and the recent successes in the Pro League reinforce our conviction that we can compete with any opponent worldwide. This tournament will take us another step further in our development!”