Germany U17 Women have claimed their fifth European Championship title with victory in a dramatic final in Belarus. In an exciting and competitive game against Spain, Anouschka Bernhard’s side triumphed 3-2 on penalties (0-0). Germany have remained unbeaten throughout the tournament. After two saves by keeper Leonie Doege, Caroline Siems held her nerve in front of 10,200 fans in Borisov and netted the decisive spot-kick to hand Germany the title. The score had been 0-0 after 80 minutes.
"I am incredibly proud of my entire team and I truly mean every single one of them: the players and the team behind the team. We’re absolutely thrilled about winning the European Championship. I’m proud of what they’ve achieved and how they’ve performed," said winning manager Anouschka Bernhard. "It was a very tricky game, both sides had chances. In the end, I think we were just lacking accuracy. We would have preferred to score in normal time but I’m still so pleased. We’re now also looking ahead to the World Cup. But for the moment we’re just enjoying this feeling. Today was a great setting and a fantastic atmosphere with over 10,000 spectators." Janina Minge added: "We fought right up until the end. We wanted this title badly. You can’t afford to overthink things in a penalty shootout. The atmosphere was incredible. We’ll celebrate now and then it’ll all sink in."
Prior to the final, they’d secured their place at the World Cup in Jordan (30th September – 21st October 2016). Spain, who suffered their first defeat of the tournament in the final, have also guaranteed a spot there.
Germany remain in control - Doege to thank for draw
It was an intense and tight game from the outset with plenty of tackles but hardly any action in either penalty area. Both teams were extremely disciplined and alert in terms of tactics and shied away from taking any risks in the opening stages. Germany initially struggled with the early pressing from Spain but coped better as the half progressed and the action increasingly took place in Spain’s half. However, the side weren’t clinical and lacked accuracy. Giulia Gwinn fired wide after fine solo build-up play by Caroline Siems (12'). Moments later Klara Bühl missed from a tight angle (21'), while Janina Winge’s header rattled the woodwork after a mistake by the Spanish keeper (27'). By pressing the opposition high up the pitch and consistently challenging, Bernhard‘s team increasingly dominated the game while Spain opted for long balls too early and conceded possession too easily.
Hardly anything changed in the second half. Germany created chance after chance but were unable to capitalise. Tanja Pawollek headed against the bar and Bühl missed the rebound (44'). Just five minutes later Bühl’s effort hit the right post (49'). Germany pushed and pushed to break the deadlock but Spain remained resilient and worked tirelessly in midfield. Bernhard upped the pressure and brought on Vanessa Ziegler (51'), who netted twice in the semi-final against England (4-3).
In fact, Spain got into the game a bit more and Leonie Doege (68') pulled off a great save in a one-on-one situation. At the other end Germany wasted the next clear-cut chance just a minute later. Minge, Bühl and substitute Anna-Lena Stolze failed to get the better of Spain’s goalkeeper Noelia Ramos, the post and their nerves. It therefore went to a penalty shootout in which Germany triumphed.
Germany U17 Women have claimed their fifth European Championship title with victory in a dramatic final in Belarus. In an exciting and competitive game against Spain, Anouschka Bernhard’s side triumphed 3-2 on penalties (0-0). Germany have remained unbeaten throughout the tournament. After two saves by keeper Leonie Doege, Caroline Siems held her nerve in front of 10,200 fans in Borisov and netted the decisive spot-kick to hand Germany the title. The score had been 0-0 after 80 minutes.
"I am incredibly proud of my entire team and I truly mean every single one of them: the players and the team behind the team. We’re absolutely thrilled about winning the European Championship. I’m proud of what they’ve achieved and how they’ve performed," said winning manager Anouschka Bernhard. "It was a very tricky game, both sides had chances. In the end, I think we were just lacking accuracy. We would have preferred to score in normal time but I’m still so pleased. We’re now also looking ahead to the World Cup. But for the moment we’re just enjoying this feeling. Today was a great setting and a fantastic atmosphere with over 10,000 spectators." Janina Minge added: "We fought right up until the end. We wanted this title badly. You can’t afford to overthink things in a penalty shootout. The atmosphere was incredible. We’ll celebrate now and then it’ll all sink in."
Prior to the final, they’d secured their place at the World Cup in Jordan (30th September – 21st October 2016). Spain, who suffered their first defeat of the tournament in the final, have also guaranteed a spot there.
Germany remain in control - Doege to thank for draw
It was an intense and tight game from the outset with plenty of tackles but hardly any action in either penalty area. Both teams were extremely disciplined and alert in terms of tactics and shied away from taking any risks in the opening stages. Germany initially struggled with the early pressing from Spain but coped better as the half progressed and the action increasingly took place in Spain’s half. However, the side weren’t clinical and lacked accuracy. Giulia Gwinn fired wide after fine solo build-up play by Caroline Siems (12'). Moments later Klara Bühl missed from a tight angle (21'), while Janina Winge’s header rattled the woodwork after a mistake by the Spanish keeper (27'). By pressing the opposition high up the pitch and consistently challenging, Bernhard‘s team increasingly dominated the game while Spain opted for long balls too early and conceded possession too easily.
Hardly anything changed in the second half. Germany created chance after chance but were unable to capitalise. Tanja Pawollek headed against the bar and Bühl missed the rebound (44'). Just five minutes later Bühl’s effort hit the right post (49'). Germany pushed and pushed to break the deadlock but Spain remained resilient and worked tirelessly in midfield. Bernhard upped the pressure and brought on Vanessa Ziegler (51'), who netted twice in the semi-final against England (4-3).
In fact, Spain got into the game a bit more and Leonie Doege (68') pulled off a great save in a one-on-one situation. At the other end Germany wasted the next clear-cut chance just a minute later. Minge, Bühl and substitute Anna-Lena Stolze failed to get the better of Spain’s goalkeeper Noelia Ramos, the post and their nerves. It therefore went to a penalty shootout in which Germany triumphed.
