Germany are in danger of a premature exit from the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in Costa Rica. Coach Anouschka Bernhard’s side were unlucky to lose 1-0 to Ghana, the third-place finishers at the 2012 edition, on Tuesday night (local time) and now lie third in the table with just one point from two group games. Progressing to the quarter-finals is no longer in Germany’s hands.
After the 1-1 draw between North Korea and Canada, the European champions will not only have to beat North Korea in their match on Sunday (live on Eurosport from 00:00 CET), but will also have to rely on Ghana, who have already qualified with six points, to help them qualify for the knockout stages. Canada, who drew 2-2 with Germany in their opening match, have two points, so a win for them against Ghana would seal Germany’s exit.
Bernhard: “We were clearly the better team”
“I think we were clearly the better team over the 90 minutes,” said Bernhard. “We played much better than in our first match and created several chances, but that’s how it goes in football sometimes.”
Germany’s coach added: “We expected exactly that kind of direct play from the Ghanaians. I think we dealt with it well and stuck with our plan of looking for the counter-attack. The players were dejected at the end. After two games, we haven’t achieved what we expected and hoped to do. That’s what happens when you don’t score any goals. But we can lift the girls’ spirits again when we show them how well they played today.”
Schuller replaces injured captain Sehan
Germany were without their injured forward and captain Jasmin Sehan after she sustained a concussion in the opening match. SGS Essen’s Lea Schuller replaced her, with midfielder Laura Widak moving up front. Meanwhile, Leonie Stenzel took on Isabella Hartig’s role at left-back.
Despite the scorching sun and temperatures of almost 35 degrees in Liberia, the match began at a high tempo. This initially suited Germany, as they created a series of good chances from set pieces. In the 11th minute, Ghana goalkeeper Azume Adams, who was later named FIFA Player of the Match, parried Laura Widak’s 25-metre deflected free kick away from goal. Ten minutes later, the agile Lea Schuller had an excellent chance from a header after another free-kick.
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Germany are in danger of a premature exit from the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in Costa Rica. Coach Anouschka Bernhard’s side were unlucky to lose 1-0 to Ghana, the third-place finishers at the 2012 edition, on Tuesday night (local time) and now lie third in the table with just one point from two group games. Progressing to the quarter-finals is no longer in Germany’s hands.
After the 1-1 draw between North Korea and Canada, the European champions will not only have to beat North Korea in their match on Sunday (live on Eurosport from 00:00 CET), but will also have to rely on Ghana, who have already qualified with six points, to help them qualify for the knockout stages. Canada, who drew 2-2 with Germany in their opening match, have two points, so a win for them against Ghana would seal Germany’s exit.
Bernhard: “We were clearly the better team”
“I think we were clearly the better team over the 90 minutes,” said Bernhard. “We played much better than in our first match and created several chances, but that’s how it goes in football sometimes.”
Germany’s coach added: “We expected exactly that kind of direct play from the Ghanaians. I think we dealt with it well and stuck with our plan of looking for the counter-attack. The players were dejected at the end. After two games, we haven’t achieved what we expected and hoped to do. That’s what happens when you don’t score any goals. But we can lift the girls’ spirits again when we show them how well they played today.”
Schuller replaces injured captain Sehan
Germany were without their injured forward and captain Jasmin Sehan after she sustained a concussion in the opening match. SGS Essen’s Lea Schuller replaced her, with midfielder Laura Widak moving up front. Meanwhile, Leonie Stenzel took on Isabella Hartig’s role at left-back.
Despite the scorching sun and temperatures of almost 35 degrees in Liberia, the match began at a high tempo. This initially suited Germany, as they created a series of good chances from set pieces. In the 11th minute, Ghana goalkeeper Azume Adams, who was later named FIFA Player of the Match, parried Laura Widak’s 25-metre deflected free kick away from goal. Ten minutes later, the agile Lea Schuller had an excellent chance from a header after another free-kick.
Good attacking play, weak finishing
Bernhard’s team played with greater focus than in the 2-2 draw with Canada and enjoyed much greater possession. Ghana, who defeated North Korea 2-0 in their opening fixture, made several small errors in their build-up play. Despite this, they had a great chance to take the lead in the 25th minute when Lily Niber-Lawrence beat both Michaela Specht and goalkeeper Vivian Brandt but still failed to score. Germany dominated aerial battles against their robust opponents, with Saskia Meier and Schuller narrowly missing good opportunities to score from dead-ball situations in the 27th and 28th minutes.
Before half-time, the African side piled on the pressure significantly as holes increasingly appeared in Germany’s defence. First, Niber-Lawrence tried an ambitious shot with her back to goal in the 37th minute, before Vivian Brandt made saves from Gladys Amfobea and Jane Ayieyam in the two minutes that followed. However, Brandt was powerless to stop Amfobea from putting her side ahead in the 43rd minute, heading home from a free-kick. Just like the two goals against Canada, Germany had once again conceded from a set piece.
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Germany’s efforts go unrewarded
The second half unfolded much like the first, with Germany making the better start but failing to score. Amfobea had another good chance to score in the 51st minute, but her free-kick hit the crossbar from more than 30 metres out. After that, Germany installed themselves in Ghana’s penalty area in the search for an equaliser. Substitute Laura Freigang sent an effort past the far post after a corner in the 59th minute, before Saskia Matheis failed to capitalise on disarray among the Ghanaian defence two minutes later.
Ghana were on the back foot in the latter stages of the match, closing down spaces and stopping pressing forward in attack, but Germany lacked the penetration necessary to score. It was only in the final ten minutes that Bernhard’s side began to create good opportunities once more, but Azume Adams parried low, long-range shots from Nina Ehegotz and Stefanie Sanders in the 81st and 82nd minutes.
Lisa Karl’s 25-metre effort went wide in the 85th minute, as did Sanders’ header a minute later. The Black Maidens saw out the remaining minutes and sealed their place as group champions. Meanwhile, Germany must now wait and hope things go their way.
