Germany are through to the U-20 Women’s World Cup final in Canada after Maren Meinert’s team edged out France 2-1 in a thrilling last-four clash, Lena Petermann forcing home the winner nine minutes from time. Germany had earlier taken a 12th minute lead through Pauline Bremer but Griedge Mbock Bathy levelled on the stroke of half-time. The U-20 women now contest the final against Nigeria, 6-2 conquerors of North Korea, in the early hours of Monday morning, European time.
Bremer fires early opener
The semi-final victory over France also represented a measure of revenge for this generation of players, as Les Bluettes knocked Germany out of last year's U-19 European championship at the same stage. "Obviously we're looking to do better than we did in the European semi-final where we were short on luck," striker Bremer said in the build-up to the latest meeting.
Bremer certainly led from the front, netting a rebound from close range to open the scoring on 12 minutes after Sara Däbritz saw her initial effort brilliantly saved by French keeper Solene Durand.
France gained the upper hand as the half wore on but the women in blue failed to put away a string of good openings, with U-20 keeper Meike Kämper saving particularly well from Mylene Tarrieu. However, the equaliser arrived seconds before half time when Mbock Bathy’s first-time effort took a wicked deflection and left Kämper wrong-footed.
Few chances after the break
The second half was a tense affair as the sides increasingly cancelled each other out. The French continued to have the lion's share of the play but unlike the first period failed to create clear-cut scoring opportunities, although Germany also found chances hard to come by.
The breakthrough came with 81 minutes on the clock: Rebecca Knaak’s header from a corner was cleared off the line, but Petermann reacted fastest and forced the rebound past Durand, leaving Germany 2-1 up with nine minutes remaining.
Final versus Nigeria
The French threw everyone forward in search of a last-gasp equaliser but Meinert’s charges held on and closed out the narrow victory. Their reward is a place in the final against Nigeria on Sunday evening local time.
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Germany are through to the U-20 Women’s World Cup final in Canada after Maren Meinert’s team edged out France 2-1 in a thrilling last-four clash, Lena Petermann forcing home the winner nine minutes from time. Germany had earlier taken a 12th minute lead through Pauline Bremer but Griedge Mbock Bathy levelled on the stroke of half-time. The U-20 women now contest the final against Nigeria, 6-2 conquerors of North Korea, in the early hours of Monday morning, European time.
Bremer fires early opener
The semi-final victory over France also represented a measure of revenge for this generation of players, as Les Bluettes knocked Germany out of last year's U-19 European championship at the same stage. "Obviously we're looking to do better than we did in the European semi-final where we were short on luck," striker Bremer said in the build-up to the latest meeting.
Bremer certainly led from the front, netting a rebound from close range to open the scoring on 12 minutes after Sara Däbritz saw her initial effort brilliantly saved by French keeper Solene Durand.
France gained the upper hand as the half wore on but the women in blue failed to put away a string of good openings, with U-20 keeper Meike Kämper saving particularly well from Mylene Tarrieu. However, the equaliser arrived seconds before half time when Mbock Bathy’s first-time effort took a wicked deflection and left Kämper wrong-footed.
Few chances after the break
The second half was a tense affair as the sides increasingly cancelled each other out. The French continued to have the lion's share of the play but unlike the first period failed to create clear-cut scoring opportunities, although Germany also found chances hard to come by.
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The breakthrough came with 81 minutes on the clock: Rebecca Knaak’s header from a corner was cleared off the line, but Petermann reacted fastest and forced the rebound past Durand, leaving Germany 2-1 up with nine minutes remaining.
Final versus Nigeria
The French threw everyone forward in search of a last-gasp equaliser but Meinert’s charges held on and closed out the narrow victory. Their reward is a place in the final against Nigeria on Sunday evening local time.
