German Women's National Football Team Advances to Quarterfinals of World Cup

The German women's national football team advanced to the quarterfinals of the World Cup - 2003-09-25. The national teams of Germany and Canada were the winners of the World Cup matches from Group C, held in Columbus, Ohio. Undoubtedly, the German team is the strongest in Group C after winning their first two matches in the group stage with a goal difference of +3 in each game. After defeating Canada 4-1 on Saturday, Germany also convincingly beat Japan 3-0. Birgit Prinz, a forward for the German national team, led her team to victory against Japan by scoring one goal in each half, netting her goals in the 36th and 66th minutes. Another German player, Sandra Minnert, also scored in the 23rd minute. The captain of the German team stated, 'Although our team did not play well against Canada, we did what was necessary to win.' She added, 'I think Japan has a very good and cohesive team. They played excellently and troubled us several times. But in the end, we were the ones who won 3-0, and that is the result that matters to us.' In the second match in Columbus, Canada and Argentina, both of whom lost their first match, faced each other, with Canada winning 3-0. In the 19th minute, Canada’s captain, Charmaine Hooper, scored the first goal for her team from a penalty, and Christine Latham added two more goals in the 79th and 82nd minutes. Canada’s head coach, Even Pellerud, said, 'Before the two late goals, the game was going evenly, and this had a negative impact on our morale, especially for those of us on the sidelines. We were certainly very hopeful of scoring more goals in the first half to enter the second half with better morale and more confidence.' He added, 'By missing goal opportunities, we made things harder for ourselves. It is a fact that this was a very tough game for us.' With this victory, Canada kept their hopes alive for advancing to the quarterfinals. In Group C, both Japan and Canada have one win and one loss each. They will face each other next Saturday, and the winner will advance to the next round. Germany, which has already secured its place in the quarterfinals, will play its last match in this round against Argentina, which has no wins. The result of that match will have no impact on the German team.