BRISBANE, Australia — An opening 6-0 win over Morocco makes Germany’s earliest exit ever on the Women’s World Cup even more durable to fathom for a No. 2-ranked staff that gained’t be advancing out of the group.
A 1-1 draw with South Korea in a dramatic finish to the group stage Thursday left Germany in third place in Group H behind Colombia and Morocco. In the top, it was Morocco that inflicted the harm with an sudden win over Colombia in a sport being performed on the identical time however on the opposite facet of the Australian continent.
It was a stunning 2-1 loss to Colombia final Sunday that left Germany within the place of needing to win its group-stage finale to ensure it superior to knockout spherical.
Two-time champion Germany had reached the quarterfinals or higher at each earlier version of the worldwide girls’s event. But when Morocco took a 1-0 lead over Colombia, it was out of the blue make or break and a 1-1 draw merely wouldn’t be sufficient.
Even then, head coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg elected to attend to inform the gamers that one other purpose was important.
“We heard at about 85 minutes,” German goalkeeper Merle Frohms stated. “Our coach didn’t want to make us nervous by telling us at halftime.”
Germany pushed for a late winner and went so shut that Alexandra Popp’s header hit the crossbar, however didn’t discover the again of the web.
When the ultimate whistle blew, the German gamers lingered on the sector in a state of shock.
“We are all very speechless,” German midfielder Lena Oberdorf stated. “Things didn’t quite click. We didn’t really show the combination we can show and we can play.”
Despite all their previous credentials, the Germany staff is now painfully conscious that the expanded 32-team draw and better funding within the wider girls’s sport makes progressing on the World Cup a harder proposition.
“It was just not enough for that tournament,” Oberdorf stated. “In women’s football, the game is growing and it’s not easy to come to the round of 16. That’s clear.”
Popp remains to be one of many stars of the worldwide sport and her 4 targets had been a vivid spot for Germany on the event. She completed the group stage tied for probably the most targets with Japan’s Hinata Miyazawa.
“We need some time to process what has happened and to be able to find some confidence again,” Popp stated. “At this stage, we know that our squad is good, but we were not good enough in these last two games.”
Voss-Tecklenburg took accountability for the loss, however didn’t clarify what went mistaken for Germany.
“We need to work out how we move into the future,” Voss-Tecklenburg stated. “We have to face up to the fact that this was a historically bad result.”
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