The Germany women’s national side missed out on the SheBelieves Cup after losing 2-1 to hosts USA in Florida last night. Silvia Neid’s side end the tournament in second place after two wins in their first two games, finishing behind the USA side.
Anja Mittag scored the first goal of the game on the 27-minute mark, giving them hope that they might mark their first victory against USA in 13 years. It wasn’t to be this time though, with Alex Morgan (35’) and Samantha Mewis (41’) turning the game on its head before half time.
"We really stepped up after 15 minutes and did very well against them. Unfortunately we conceded two goals fairly soon after taking the lead, but we will take a lot from this match. When you remember that we had seven players missing, then I am very satisfied," said the national coach following the tournament.
Four changes from England match
Neid made four changes to her team from the 2-1 victory over England, with Almuth Schult, right back Leonie Maier, centre half Babett Peter and Anja Mittag replacing Laura Benkarth, Kathrin Hendrich, Annike Krahn and Mandy Islacker.
The game started at a high pace in front of 13,501 spectators at the Boca Raton stadium, with USA perhaps enjoying the pick of the chances. Carli Lloyd had the first real chance after just two minutes, firing just wide from 15 metres out. After roughly 20 minutes it was Germany who drew first blood, Mittag lining one up from 22 metres out to give them the lead. The USA responded very well, with Morgan sliding the ball past Schult in the 35th minute, to draw her team level. The next goal was very unlucky for the DFB back line, with Peter deflecting Mewis' long-range shot past Schult. In the second half, Germany tried everything but ultimately came up against a very strong, intelligent USA defence.
Following the match Silvia Neid said: "Overall us coaches have learned a lot, and our players have gathered valuable experience. I was particularly pleased that we were able to get better as the tournament progressed, and played with passion and aggression against USA in the final game."
