Valenciennes, France- Germany had their second 1-0 win of the tournament over Spain, to take the lead in Group B with a total of six points. Although Spain dominated in ball possession, all their opportunities on goal were flushed out by Germany.
Rain began to pour down on the players at the beginning of the match, but the weather conditions didn’t slow down La Roja as forward Nahikari Garcia made a run for the net with a shot just wide from goal.
Spain maintained control of the midfield to try and rule out any possibilities of Germany attacking in the first half. Their efforts showed, as Spain had better opportunities on goal over the Die Nationalelf.
However, in the 42’ minute, Germany saw the back of the net with a cross from midfielder Svenja Huth to Alexandra Popp, who headed the ball, which was then deflected. Germany persisted and their first goal came in as Sara Baebritz finished the touch for a 1-0 lead before the first half concluded.
German forward Klara Buhl almost scored the second goal for her team but Spain keeper, Sandra Panos, took away Buhl’s opportunity with a save. With Germany having a 1-0 lead, Spain looked to score the equalizer, but couldn’t make it happen.
“We gave everything to beat the second-best team in the world,” said Spain head coach Jorge Vilda. “We were able to dominate them in certain parts of the match. Obviously we weren’t able to put the cherry on top of the cake by getting a goal but – apart from one error that we were penalized for – we were able to bring that style of play.”
Spain and Germany saw improvements in play from their last matches, but Spain failed to deliver early on and as a result, conceded a goal without scoring. Germany finished with a win, but their play was similar to their previous match against China, performing better after the second half.
“We worked hard, we pushed the ball over the line for the goal. It was real teamwork today, we did not play beautifully, but we were successful.” said Sara Dabritz, Visa player of the match.”
Now with six points, Germany will move on to face the remaining team in their group, South Africa. The match will be aired on Monday, June 17 at 9 a.m. PST.
SCORING SUMMARY:
GER-Sara Baebritz, 42’
BOOKING SUMMARY:
GER-Verena Schweers, 63’ yellow card
GERMANY: #1-Almuth Schult, #3-Kathrin Hendrich (#19-Klara Buhl, 46’), #5-Marina Hegering, #6-Lena Oberdorf (#20-Lina Magull, 64’), #8-Lena Goesling (#18-Melanie Leupolz, 80’), #9-Svenja Huth, #11-Alexandra Popp, #13-Sara Daebritz, #15-Giulia Gwinn, #17-Verena Schweers, #23-Sara Doorsoun
Subs not used: #12-Laura Benkarth, #21-Merie Frohms, #2-Carolin Simon, #4-Leonie Maier, #7-Lea Schueller, #10-Dzenifer Marozsan, #14-Johanna Elsig, #16-Linda Dallmann, #22-Turid KnaaK
SPAIN: #13-Sandra Panos, #4-Irene Paredes, #7-Marta Corredera, #8-Marta Torrejon, #9-Mariona Caldentey (#17-Lucia Garcia, 59’), #10-Jennifer Hermoso, #11-Alexia Putellas (#18-Aitana Bonmati, 77’), #14-Virginia Torrecilla, #15-Silvia Meseguer (#12-Patri Guijarro, 66’), #16-Maria Leon, #22- Nahikari Garcia
Subs not used: #1-Dolores Gallardo, #2-Celia Jimenez, #3-Leila Ouahbi, #5-Ivana Pardes, #6-Vicky Losada, #19-Amanda Sampedro, #20-Andrea Pereira, #21-Andrea Falcon, #23-Maria Quinones
TOTAL SHOTS: GER 15-16 SPN
SHOTS ON GOAL: GER 8-2 SPN
OFFSIDES: GER 4-3 SPN
CORNERS: GER 2-7 SPN
Culture
Women's World Cup
