The first half was hard on the defensive line of Steel Roses. The Germans have the benefit of being individually physical but the team of Jia Xiuquan has stood firm to the pressure and has given counter attacks a lot of opportunity. The attacking third now needs ahead, so we will probably see super striker Wang Shuang return to the field after the break.

The German coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg showed bravery and made many modifications, among which the youngest German player ever to compete in the FIFA World Cup was Lena Oberdorf. Her modifications have led her to more stability, leading to a victory against a Chinese team that is going to go well here in France, too.

“We did enjoy the game, but it’s a pity we didn’t manage to score. It’s some fine details that are missing. We did utilise our positive traits and strike back, but still missed those small margins to actually score. Still, it’s built up our confidence for the coming games.”
– Wu Haiyan, Chinese Captain.

Said the German coach, “Just now we had a debriefing and recognised our players’ performance. We told them that we did well in our attacking and defensive work, we just need to keep working on it. There was a lot of pressure on our defence, and in our attack we created opportunities. All of this is what we worked on in training and today this was reflected on the pitch, but of course we need to do much more. Compared to Germany we are not at the same level, but it does not mean we cannot fight.”

But Martina Voss-Tecklenburg showed strength and determination to overcome a steady Steel Roses outfit and to emerge with a 1-0 victory. They had not got it all in the WWCC 2019 opener. Teenager Giulia Gwinn was the only goal scorer and pulled a hat trick for the World Cup Player of the Match awards at U-17,U-20 and senior level.

Jia Xiuquan’s Chinese counterattack scheme worked nearly perfect. In the first half, Yang Li wasted two good occasions. It was not to be and definitely must be more clinical if they are to arise from an awkward Group B.

IMAGE: Background from Pexels, Player from FIFA.com Profiles.