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The story so far
A massive goal difference from their 10-0 thrashing of the Ivory Coast saw Germany take the top of Group B. Wins over Thailand and Côte d'Ivoire combined with a close draw with Norway saw out the group stage before their first knock-out challenge of the tournament came in the form of Sweden, who qualified through in third place from Group D.
The Round of 16 battle saw Germany come out strong once more taking a 4-1 victory over the Swedish side to book a spot in the Quarter Finals. Although the victory came across strong, Germany had troubles finding the back of the net at the start of the match before four goals showed that the concerns had no legs and the two-time champions’ eyes now look towards the final three matches.
They’ll beat France because…
Apart from the five star performance over Mexico to sink them to the bottom of Group F, France only came away with a single goal victory over England and were defeated by Colombia in their group stage, and these close battles may hold the key to victory for Germany. While Germany had one of the easier draws in the Round of 16, France battled their way through South Korea to make the all-European clash and Germany’s lethal chokehold that they can bring to bear in the game could silence any creativity that the French national side have come to rely on. With Germany having both Anja Mittag and Celia Sasic as the top goal scorers of the tournament, they’ll both be battling for the golden boot of the competition and France will have their hands full handling the deadly forwards.
They’ll get knocked out by France because…
Once again, Germany may suffer if they can’t find the back of the net and although the side got over their troubles in the second half of the Swedish clash, things could have gone the other way for them if the Sweden backline had held firm for a little longer. With France one of the strongest teams that they’ve faced in the tournament so far, Germany must be on top of their game or they could see themselves plummeting out of the competition earlier than they’d like. Over-confidence is another hurdle that they’ll need to get over if they’re going to take down their European neighbours and come up against their strongest rival in the semi-finals, the United States.
Will they win the World Cup?
Germany are going to go all the way in the competition and a victory in the grand final will be the perfect swan song for Silvia Neid. Although France is a strong competitor and USA are the more than likely rival in the semi-finals, Australia or England could be awaiting in the Final of the tournament if they make it that far and Germany stands tall above all others in that regard. With their goal-scoring boots now properly fitted and ready for the final three games of their competition, Germany can go all the way if they keep improving on their style and skill from the first four games.
Best moment of the tournament so far?
Although coming into the Quarter Finals is a great moment for the German side, the domination over the Ivory Coast still stands out as the biggest moment of Germany’s campaign so far with their double-digit victory still standing as the biggest score line of the tournament and still bringing fear to every rival that they come up against. If there is a slip with the defence of the other teams, Germany will pounce and leave them stumbling backwards under a barrage of goals.
Key Player
They’ve already been mentioned but Anja Mittag and Celia Sasic are both two goals clear of all other scorers on the golden boot chart and will be looking to outscore each other if they can take the lead. Both of them can be considered key players for the German side yet more than both of them Dzenifer Marozsan has been influential in her midfield creation with her creation of goals against Thailand standing out head and shoulders. All plays flow through the skilled veteran of the centre field.
Injuries/Suspensions
No major injuries plague Germany from the Sweden clash and a lack of red cards mean that, as of now, no German player has been issued a match-ban in the tournament. The side will be looking to keep it this way – if they can take a win over France on the weekend they will need the strongest starting XI they can field when they come up against the United States in the semi-final.
Prediction
If France can’t score early then Germany is going to put their stranglehold on the match and it’s only a matter of time before Mittag or Sasic claims another goal. Without a goal first from the French side, Germany wins before the 90 minutes is up, perhaps by a wide margin if the German forwards can hit their stride once more – a shootout is not really on the cards but Mittag and Sasic are both hungry for goals and have the midfield to support them in this. Germany win with confidence to take on the United States in the semi-final.