The Germany women’s team has qualified for the quarterfinals of the Olympic football tournament in Brazil. Silvia Neid’s team lost 2-1 to Canada but finished above Australia in Group F due to their superior goal difference.
The European Champions will face the second-placed side from Group E in the first knock-out round, which will probably be either China or Sweden and they will avoid tournament favourites France. Germany’s opponent will be decided late on Tuesday evening (03:00 CEST, 22:00 local time).
Bartusiak: “We have to get our act together”
“You can see that we wanted to equalise and were doing everything we could. Our opponents played well but we are able to do better than that,” said Neid after the game. Captain Saskia Bartusiak commented: “We imagined it would go differently. We wanted to win but we couldn’t manage it. We’ll have to get our act together as quickly as possible because we’ll be out if we lose the next game.”
Melanie Behringer opened the scoring from the penalty spot for Germany but Melissa Tancredi bagged a brace to give the London 2012 bronze medallists the victory.
Neid makes five changes
Neid changed her team drastically for the match at the national stadium in Brasilia. The Germans returned to a 4-2-3-1 formation with a mostly new defence in place around captain Saskia Bartusiak. Alexandra Popp started the game on the bench as she‘s one yellow card away from a suspension.
Canada’s coach John Herdman rested superstar Christine Sinclair and three-time goalscorer Janine Beckie for the match, knowing that their ticket for the quarterfinal was secure. His team also played with less intensity going forwards than in previous matches, perhaps with one eye on their upcoming opponents.
Islacker makes first Olympic appearance
Mandy Islacker had played less than fifteen minutes in the soaring summer heat in her first Olympic appearance, when she was brought down in the box by Allysha Chapman. The resulting penalty was confidently dispatched by Behringer for her third goal of the tournament so far.
The Canadians came back in force following the setback. Defensive midfielder Sophie Schmidt of 1. FFC Frankfurt came to the fore with an early pressing game which reaped rewards for her team, as a misplaced pass from Bartusiak let Canada‘s captain Tancredi in for the equaliser.
The North American’s then pulled ahead as Tancredi was found with space in the box from a Canadian free-kick and headed home to make it 2-1. Neid reacted by bringing on Popp and Melanie Leupolz for the closing stages but despite heavy pressure, the result didn’t change.
[mmc/ma]
The Germany women’s team has qualified for the quarterfinals of the Olympic football tournament in Brazil. Silvia Neid’s team lost 2-1 to Canada but finished above Australia in Group F due to their superior goal difference.
The European Champions will face the second-placed side from Group E in the first knock-out round, which will probably be either China or Sweden and they will avoid tournament favourites France. Germany’s opponent will be decided late on Tuesday evening (03:00 CEST, 22:00 local time).
Bartusiak: “We have to get our act together”
“You can see that we wanted to equalise and were doing everything we could. Our opponents played well but we are able to do better than that,” said Neid after the game. Captain Saskia Bartusiak commented: “We imagined it would go differently. We wanted to win but we couldn’t manage it. We’ll have to get our act together as quickly as possible because we’ll be out if we lose the next game.”
Melanie Behringer opened the scoring from the penalty spot for Germany but Melissa Tancredi bagged a brace to give the London 2012 bronze medallists the victory.
Neid makes five changes
Neid changed her team drastically for the match at the national stadium in Brasilia. The Germans returned to a 4-2-3-1 formation with a mostly new defence in place around captain Saskia Bartusiak. Alexandra Popp started the game on the bench as she‘s one yellow card away from a suspension.
Canada’s coach John Herdman rested superstar Christine Sinclair and three-time goalscorer Janine Beckie for the match, knowing that their ticket for the quarterfinal was secure. His team also played with less intensity going forwards than in previous matches, perhaps with one eye on their upcoming opponents.
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Islacker makes first Olympic appearance
Mandy Islacker had played less than fifteen minutes in the soaring summer heat in her first Olympic appearance, when she was brought down in the box by Allysha Chapman. The resulting penalty was confidently dispatched by Behringer for her third goal of the tournament so far.
The Canadians came back in force following the setback. Defensive midfielder Sophie Schmidt of 1. FFC Frankfurt came to the fore with an early pressing game which reaped rewards for her team, as a misplaced pass from Bartusiak let Canada‘s captain Tancredi in for the equaliser.
The North American’s then pulled ahead as Tancredi was found with space in the box from a Canadian free-kick and headed home to make it 2-1. Neid reacted by bringing on Popp and Melanie Leupolz for the closing stages but despite heavy pressure, the result didn’t change.
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