The opening match of the Women’s World Cup is scheduled for Friday when the French have to compete against the South Koreans. In the Roazhon Park in Rennes, the opening game of group B is also scheduled a day later. The German soccer women play against the Chinese team. The quality difference is huge according to the bookmakers, but is that really the case?
Germany:
For years the Germans were the world’s largest in women’s football, but in recent years Die Nationalelf has dropped to second place. Only the United States do better than the Germans. It has been twelve years since our eastern neighbors won the world title for the last time, but Germany won ten of the twelve European Championships played. The elimination against Denmark in the quarterfinals during the European Championship 2017 at Het Kasteel was therefore the worst performance of Die Nationalelf in a European Championship. The Germans now want to pick up again and get the world title to Germany.
The World Cup qualification was expected for the Germans. Yet for the first time since 1998, they lost a World Cup qualifier. In-house was lost from Iceland with 2-3. That did not spoil the fun, because the other seven qualifiers were won. Almost all of the friendly matches were won this calendar year. Not only was Sweden and Chile won, but France was also won. The French are respectively third on the FIFA world ranking. The Germans played a draw against the Japanese, but that happened to Spain and the US. also.
The German ladies have had an exceptionally good team for years. The captain Alexandra Popp is the top scorer of the national team. She is technically gifted and because of her speed and head strength she is a fantastic player. Midfielder Dzsenifer Marozsán is seen as one of the best players in the world. She is a great danger in midfield and often tries it from a distance. DieNationalelf is the biggest weakness in defense, because Germany often takes a hit against the larger countries.
China:
China is a relatively big name in women’s football, but the world ranking suggests otherwise. The country is now 17th on the world ranking list. However, the results at the previous world championships do not lie. The Chinese ladies participated in six of the seven tournaments and they always reached at least the quarterfinals. The Chinese won the previous world championship in the injury time of the Netherlands and finished second in the group of death.
The Steel Roses were also the first to qualify for the World Championship. They had to fight out in a group with Thailand, the Philippines and Jordan who could get a place at the World Cup. They won against all three opponents, making participation unavoidable. Still, 2019 was a little less successful for the Chinese ladies so far. After victories against Nigeria and South Korea in January, no more was won. Norway, Denmark and France were too strong for the Steel Roses. They only played a draw against the Netherlands, but they were knocked out of the Algarve Cup after penalties.
The Chinese have a great team and can certainly not be underestimated at the world championship. With seven hits, Li Ying was the top scorer of her team’s qualification. The left-legged striker knows how to find it. Wu Haiyan is seen as the greatest talent of the selection. The captain can handle any position in the defense and is extremely fast. The Chinese are fast, but this is due to the lack of length.
PREDICTION: Over 2,5 goals @ 1,84
