Lots of fun and lots of goals: Germany's women's soccer team completed the previously successful World Cup qualification with an 8-0 (3-0) thrashing of Bulgaria.

Lea Schüller (35th/45th 1/52nd minute), Laura Freigang (45th/64th/87th), Sydney Lohmann (54th) and Svenja Huth (81st) scored from the penalty spot on Tuesday in front of almost empty ranks in Plovdiv the goals for the European Championship runners-up, who, before the autumn classics against France and world champions USA, advertised himself with enthusiasm and goal-scoring.

And that despite the fact that Martina Voss-Tecklenburg had rotated vigorously in the meaningless game. The national coach changed her starting XI in eight positions compared to the arduous 3-0 win in Turkey last Saturday, through which the DFB selection had bought their ticket for the 2023 World Cup finals in Australia and New Zealand ahead of time.

Schult is in goal

For the first time in more than three years, long-standing goalkeeper Almuth Schult was between the posts of the German goal. "It's a special moment for her to be on the pitch and to show that it's possible to return to competitive sport as a mother," said Voss-Tecklenburg before kick-off on TV channel One. The 31-year-old Schult has been the mother of twins since 2020.

During her comeback, she remained almost unemployed, because even in a completely different formation, the DFB selection was clearly superior to the field. However, the necessary precision against a destructive opponent was initially lacking on the bumpy lawn.

The first chance after 20 minutes was more of a coincidence. A cross from Jule Brand landed on the crossbar of the Bulgarian goal. After almost half an hour, Schüller was free to finish, but aimed too high at full speed. A little later, the "footballer of the year" broke the spell.

The attacking game went like clockwork. After Linda Dallmann initially only hit the wood, Freigang and again Schüller followed up before the break. It was also the 24-year-old from runners-up Bayern Munich who continued the DFB women's pursuit of goals after the change. After just over an hour, the three-goal scorer had to come off the field, and captain Alexandra Popp came on for her. Despite the clear lead, the German team didn't let up in their attacking efforts until the end and rewarded themselves with more goals.