Striker Birgit Prinz at the press conference in Tianjin
Silvia Neid: "Nuances will determine the game"
Dr. Theo Zwanziger holds onto his Chinese lucky charm, a present given to him by a Shanghai cab driver. “It worked for our game against North Korea, so I’ll keep it a while longer”, said Zwanziger, the President of the German Football Association DFB. Today Germany's women face Norway in the semi-final of the 2007 FIFA World Cup (2 P.M., live on ARD and Eurosport). Both teams are one-time World Cup winners, the Germans winning the prestigious trophy in 2003. The magic from the President’s lucky charm won’t be enough to conjure Germany into the final.
“It’s anybody’s ball game, it is really up for grabs”, says German coach Silvia Neid. “Nuances will determine the game”. Statistics give an indication on how evenly the matchup between Germany and Norway is balanced. Germany won 12 of 28 games, Norway eleven. Neid sends the same team on the field that defeated North Korea 3-0 in the quarters, meaning that the 34-year old veteran Sandra Minnert will once again be on the bench, while Annike Krahn gets the nod in the central defense.
Last training session of the German national team at Olympic Center Stadium Tianjin
“No reason for any changes, nobody has scored on us yet”, says Neid. So far, her team has reached two of four goals set prior to the tournament. Germany won their group and has qualified for the Beijing Olympics. Now they want to qualify for the World Cup final. Never before in World Cup history did a team advance to the semis without giving up a goal. The last time, Germany’s goalie had to render a goal was in the 2003 final against Sweden, a total of 439 minutes without an opponent scoring. Four minutes into the game against Norway, Germany would break the old Chinese World Cup record of 442 minutes without giving up a goal.
“Math was my major in high school, but I cannot calculate the chances of us playing a shutout again”, says defender Ariane Hingst, who is an expert on Scandinavian football. Hingst (138 caps) plays for Djugardens IF in Sweden. Norway defeated Germany in the 1995 World Cup final, and for Hingst, the Norwegians are still a very dangerous opponent. “They like to play a long ball, which is not that creative, but you always have to be on the lookout. They can score within the blink of an eye”, says Hingst.
Both teams met a mere four weeks ago, a 2-2 tie back in Germany. For Silvia Neid, that game is ancient history. “We rather build on our performances here in China.” “Four weeks ago, they beat us by a step on every chase for the ball”, says Birgit Prinz, the three time “FIFA Player of the Year”. Norway feels very confident going into the game: “We want to win the World Cup, and my team is ready to get the job done”, says their coach Bjarne Berntsen. Norway has never lost to an European opponent in a World Cup game. The series has lasted for nine games so far.
More Information about the Women national team can be found here.
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Dr. Theo Zwanziger holds onto his Chinese lucky charm, a present given to him by a Shanghai cab driver. “It worked for our game against North Korea, so I’ll keep it a while longer”, said Zwanziger, the President of the German Football Association DFB. Today Germany's women face Norway in the semi-final of the 2007 FIFA World Cup (2 P.M., live on ARD and Eurosport). Both teams are one-time World Cup winners, the Germans winning the prestigious trophy in 2003. The magic from the President’s lucky charm won’t be enough to conjure Germany into the final.
“It’s anybody’s ball game, it is really up for grabs”, says German coach Silvia Neid. “Nuances will determine the game”. Statistics give an indication on how evenly the matchup between Germany and Norway is balanced. Germany won 12 of 28 games, Norway eleven. Neid sends the same team on the field that defeated North Korea 3-0 in the quarters, meaning that the 34-year old veteran Sandra Minnert will once again be on the bench, while Annike Krahn gets the nod in the central defense.
Last training session of the German national team at Olympic Center Stadium Tianjin
“No reason for any changes, nobody has scored on us yet”, says Neid. So far, her team has reached two of four goals set prior to the tournament. Germany won their group and has qualified for the Beijing Olympics. Now they want to qualify for the World Cup final. Never before in World Cup history did a team advance to the semis without giving up a goal. The last time, Germany’s goalie had to render a goal was in the 2003 final against Sweden, a total of 439 minutes without an opponent scoring. Four minutes into the game against Norway, Germany would break the old Chinese World Cup record of 442 minutes without giving up a goal.
“Math was my major in high school, but I cannot calculate the chances of us playing a shutout again”, says defender Ariane Hingst, who is an expert on Scandinavian football. Hingst (138 caps) plays for Djugardens IF in Sweden. Norway defeated Germany in the 1995 World Cup final, and for Hingst, the Norwegians are still a very dangerous opponent. “They like to play a long ball, which is not that creative, but you always have to be on the lookout. They can score within the blink of an eye”, says Hingst.
Both teams met a mere four weeks ago, a 2-2 tie back in Germany. For Silvia Neid, that game is ancient history. “We rather build on our performances here in China.” “Four weeks ago, they beat us by a step on every chase for the ball”, says Birgit Prinz, the three time “FIFA Player of the Year”. Norway feels very confident going into the game: “We want to win the World Cup, and my team is ready to get the job done”, says their coach Bjarne Berntsen. Norway has never lost to an European opponent in a World Cup game. The series has lasted for nine games so far.
More Information about the Women national team can be found here.
