German women keep up momentum with another dominant victory
Though he final group stage match of the UEFA Women's Euros had no real bearing on the German Women's national team's place in the group or opponent in the quarterfinals, a completely dominant performance over Finland ensured that the DFB-XI have still more to be confident about.
A true captain's performance from Alexandra Popp saw the squad skipper score her third headed goal of the tournament. Eintracht Frankfurt youngsters Sofia Keinherne and Nicole Anyomi also scored their first goals for country in the 3-0 rout.
A true captain's performance from Alexandra Popp saw the squad skipper score her third headed goal of the tournament. Eintracht Frankfurt youngsters Sofia Keinherne and Nicole Anyomi also scored their first goals for country in the 3-0 rout.
| Eintracht Frankfurt winger Nicole Anyomi | Steffen Prößdorf CC-BY-SA 4.0 |
DFB-Trainerin Martina Voss-Tecklenburg made four changes to the side that clinched top spot in the group with a 2-0 win over Spain on Tuesday. With midfielder Lena Oberdorf and left-back Felicitas Rauch unavailable due to accumulated yellow suspensions, 22-year old Eintracht Frankfurt fullback Sofia Kleinherne and 22-year-pld VfL Wolfsburg anchoring midfielder Lena Lattwein entered the XI. The two youngsters were joined by veterans Linda Dallman and Sara Doorsoun, who filled in for attacker Lina Magull (light injury) and center back Kathrin Hendrich (rest), respectively.
Just 30 seconds after kickoff, the German attack was able to hit lead striker Alexandra Popp with a cross. The squad's normal skipper, still filling in for the COVID positive Lea Schüller, flashed a header over the bar. The sequence certainly set an early tone. The Germans unleashed an uninterrupted wave of attacks, most of which had half-chances at the end of them. Much of the play ran through the mobile and agressive right fullback Giulia Gwinn.
Though the DFB-Xi never really relinquished control of the matches, crosses and passes into the box were often blind or imprecisely aimed at their intended target. By the 20th minute, the Mädels had racked up 12 attempts on target, but nothing truly dangerous. All of the efforts went wide, leaving Finnish keeper Katriina Talaslahti without a recorded save.
The match continued along these lines until the deadlock was finally broken in the 40th. Alternate captain Svenja Huth managed to connect with Gwinn inside the penalty area. Gwinn, in turn, hooked a cross in the direction of three unmarked players in the box. As it so happened, Kleinherne would be the one to finish with her head. The Eintracht youngster thus scored her first goal for country in 17 caps.
There were some more chances before the half was out. Sara Däbritz narrowly missed the best chance to make it 2-0. Voss-Tecklenburg employed a double change at the half, giving Hegering some time off by inserting Hendrich alongside Doorsoun in central defensive and giving young SGE prospect Nicole Anyomi a run-out in place of Gwinn.
The scored 45 would see the German women attain the scoreline that their dominance in the match deserved. Three minutes after the restart, Popp headed in the 2-0 after some very nice set-up work from the just subbed on Hendrich and Anyomi. Popp's third headed goal in as many matches meant that the 31-year-old became the first German women to score in all three European Championship group stage games.
After throughly controlling the action for the quarter-of-an-hour it would be Anyomi turn to score here maiden goal for country. The Krefeld native latched onto a poor Finnish clearance just inside the area. After a magnificent first touch, the 22-year-old SGE professional rifled home a powerful finish into the bottom left corner. Anyomi earned her first international tally on seven caps for country.
After the 3-0, matters understandably got a bit more choppy. A hail of substitutes from both sides did the match flow no favors. One might say that skipper Alexandra Popp, left on the pitch whilst others were rested, certainly did her utmost to try and set-up further goals for substitutes Laura Freigang, Jule Brand and Tabea Waßmuth. Another goal would nevertheless not be forthcoming on this day.
