Germany Women's World Cup roster 2023: Final 23-player national team squad for FIFA tournament

Dominic Booth

Tom Macrae

Germany Women's World Cup roster 2023: Final 23-player national team squad for FIFA tournament image

Germany are one of the European giants hoping to claim the biggest title of them all when they travel to Australia and New Zealand in 2023. 

Captained once again by the impressive Alexandra Popp, the Germans will want to build on their stunning Group H opener, winning 6-0 against Morocco with Popp bagging a brace.

The back-to-back champions in 2003 and 2007 named a strong 23-player squad that will try and return them to former glory.

The Sporting News details that squad here.

MORE: Full Women's World Cup schedule

Germany final Women's World Cup Squad

With 128 caps and 62 goals before the tournament began, Alexandra Popp is captaining this German side in Australia and New Zealand.

Her long-time strike partner, Svenja Huth, will likely make up another number in a German front-three. 

Exciting young midfielder, Lena Oberdorf, is a hot tip to light up the tournament after her fine performances with Wolfsburg last season.

MORE: Germany vs Morocco highlights from Women's World Cup as Popp stars in thrashing

*Stats correct at start of tournament

PositionPlayerClubCapsGoals
GoalkeeperMerle FrohmsVfL Wolfsburg400
GoalkeeperAnn-Katrin BergerChelsea60
GoalkeeperStina JohannesFrankfurt00
DefenderChantal HagelHoffenheim100
DefenderKathrin HendrichVfL Wolfsburg585
DefenderSophia KleinherneFrankfurt271
DefenderMarina HegeringBayern Munich293
DefenderFelicitas RauchVfL Wolfsburg334
DefenderSjoeke NuskenChelsea 172
DefenderSara DoorsounFrankfurt451
MidfielderLena OberdorfVfL Wolfsburg383
MidfielderSydney LohmannBayern Munich224
MidfielderSara DabritzLyon9717
MidfielderLena LattweinVfL Wolfsburg291
MidfielderMelanie LeupolzChelsea7813
MidfielderLina MagullBayern Munich7222
MidfielderJule BrandVfL Wolfsburg327
ForwardLea SchullerBayern Munich4731
ForwardSvenja HuthVfL Wolfsburg8014
ForwardLaura FreigangFrankfurt2012
ForwardAlexandra Popp (C)VfL Wolfsburg12862
ForwardNicole AnyomiFrankfurt161
ForwardKiara BuhlBayern Munich3514

Germany stars, strengths, weaknesses

Stars

Alexandra Popp is a name all fans of women's football will be very familiar with. Germany's fifth highest scorer of all time before the tournament became the joint-third on that list when she bagged a double against hapless Morocco.

Lena Oberdorf could have an enormous impact on Germany's World Cup campaign from midfield. The exciting 21 year-old has been a star turn in this side since her debut in 2019 and will be full of confidence after lifting the German Cup in 2022-23 with Wolfsburg.

Strengths

Experience in the final third could make Germany an unstoppable force in this year's tournament. Popp and Huth have made more than 200 appearances for Germany between them and will prove very hard to stop once they get going.

Of Germany's 23-woman squad, only four players play their domestic football outside of Germany. Eight players – including Popp and goalkeeper Merle Frohms – play for VfL Wolfsburg. To say this team should have a good understanding of each other's game feels like an understatement. They have a strong bond and a sense of identity.

MORE: Women's World Cup 2023 Group H table, standings, schedule and fixtures

Weaknesses

With experience comes age: Germany's key players in attack, Popp and Huth, are both 32 nowadays and will need help from their younger teammates if they are to maintain a high level throughout the tournament.

The Germans didn't come into their opening match of the World Cup in the hottest form. An embarrassing loss to Zambia in their final friendly before the competition was quickly put in the past, however, with that Morocco performance.

Germany predicted lineup

(4-3-3): Frohms (GK) — Kleinherne, Hendrich, Hegering, Rauch — Magull, Oberdorf, Lohmann — Huth, Popp, Buhl

Can Germany replace players on World Cup roster? 

According to the official rules of the World Cup, players on the final squad can only be replaced in the event of a serious illness or injury up to 24 hours before the start of their teams first match.

The injury or illness needs to be assessed and judged by FIFA to be serious enough to prevent the player from taking part in the World Cup.

Dominic Booth

Dominic first joined the Sporting News UK in November 2022 to work on our World Cup coverage as a freelance sub editor. He was previously a sport content editor and Man United writer at the Manchester Evening News, is a regular at both Old Traffords, football and cricket and also works for The Guardian and BBC Sport.

Tom Macrae

Tom joined The Sporting News in 2022 ahead of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar. A journalism student at Western Sydney University, Tom covered the 2020/21 A-Leagues season with The Football Sack and is a lifelong Newcastle United fan.