Germany joined Nigeria in the semifinals of the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup after a 2-0 win against Brazil at the D. Y. Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on Friday.
Marie Steiner and Melina Kruger were the scorers in the match for Germany.
It started the match without head coach Friederike Kromp after she tested Covid-19 positive. Assistant coaches Julia Simic and Melanie Behringer took her place today in the dugout.
Tipped to be the most exciting quarterfinal in terms of quality, the opening stages of the first half were wayward, to say the least with both teams not finding a set rhythm.
In the 21st minute, Jhonson had a chance to score Brazil’s first after getting a cross from Lara from the left. The cross was overhit and ideally should have been an easy collect by Germany keeper Lina Altenburg. But she could not hold on to it and Jhonson tried to get to the loose ball. However, Altenburg recovered in time and gathered the ball to quell any danger.
Germany opened the scoring in the 23rd minute when Mara Alber set up Marie Steiner in the penalty box, who kept her calm and slotted the ball into the net.
Brazil thought it had its equaliser in the 32nd minute when Alice headed the ball on target. The goal was initially given to Brazil’s joy only to cut it short after VAR sent the referee to the monitor to check for a possible handball.
The referee, after a close look, ruled the goal out saying the ball struck Alice’s hand on its way to the goal.
In the second half, Brazil manager Simone Jatoba made a lot of changes, bringing in Rhaissa and Grazy to change the fate of her team. However, there was no way for the Brazilians to get through the German defence.
In the 53rd minute, Brazil captain Kedima surprised everyone when she went for goal from nearly the halfway line but the ball hit the crossbar and came back into play. Johnson looked to pounce on the rebound but the German defence was alert in clearing the ball.
In the 58th minute, the Brazilians came close to scoring once again. This time, Aline did well to shield the ball on the right flank and deliver a cross in the middle. Dudinha jumped to get her head to it but the height was too much for the midfielder.
After surviving a phase of constant pressure, the Germans looked much more settled and Brazil found it difficult to find an opening.
Any hopes of a comeback were squashed in the fifth minute of second-half injury time when Melina Kruger scored the second goal from Laura Gloning’s cross to kill the game and complete a 2-0 win.
“This team is made for challenges. It is never an easy job for the girls but they have shown that they can deal with everything. I am sure this is a beautiful experience for their development. It is great to be a part of this,” said Julia Simic who accompanied stand-in head coach Melanie Behringer after Kromp’s positive Covid test.
Match result: Germany 2 (Steiner 23’, Kruger 90+5’) beat Brazil 0
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