SOCCER-WOMEN/GERMANY PREVIEW Germany prepare for crucial match against Thailand in Women's World Cup

Record ID: 151246

  • Title: SOCCER-WOMEN/GERMANY PREVIEW Germany prepare for crucial match against Thailand in Women's World Cup
  • Date: 15th June 2015
  • Summary: WINNIPEG, MANITOBA, CANADA (JUNE 14, 2015) (REUTERS) GENERAL VIEWS OF TEAM TRAINING CLOSE UPS OF LENA GOESSLING (SOUNDBITE) (German) GERMAN COACH SILVIA NEID SAYING: "There is no reason to underestimate the Thai team. They are very good football players, who technically have everything a good football match needs. Therefore we will be very focused going into this match." T
  • Embargoed: 30th June 2015 13:00
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  • Location: Canada
  • Country: Canada
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA8BKRXS0XMTWY57O0IK0XR9QCH
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Germany only need a draw against Thailand in their final Group B match of the Women's World Cup to be sure of advancing to the quarter-finals.
    Germany prepared for Monday's (June 15) match at the Winnipeg Stadium in Canada with a training session on the stadium's artificial surface on Sunday (June 14).
    They come into the match having thumped Ivory Coast 10-0 in their opening match but were then held to a 1-1 draw by Norway in their second match last Thursday (June 11). With Thailand having lost to Norway but then defeated the Ivory Coast, a win for the Thais against Germany would put them into the quarter-finals.
    "There is no reason to underestimate the Thai team. They are very good football players, who technically have everything a good football match needs. Therefore we will be very focused going into this match," said Germany coach Silvia Neid.
    "Fundamentally I think that Thailand has developed very well. I saw them in Germany, they have played in Holland and really developed further. So, they have earned their place here at this World Cup. It is strange to talk about having mercy on them. Of course, we would normally take that into consideration, but not when we are in a football match in a World Cup. Then it is simply a case of pursuing our main strategy, moving well around the ball, making the most of the chances we get. That is what we all want to do and then we feel good. At the end of the day it is about coming out of this game and then, the way it is looking, being in the final," she added.
    Thailand are in the first World Cup, but player Melanie Behringer said that the level of play everywhere has risen.
    "As I have already said, the level has risen. Lots of teams that we do not know so well are performing very well at this tournament. I think the Swiss team, who are participating in the tournament for the first time, are doing very well, and I think overall the level has simply risen," she said.
    She also said the team were disappointed with the result against Norway having led the match from early on before conceding in the second half.
    "We definitely spoke about it, because we weren't happy with it against Norway - we didn't manage to make use of very many chances to score. Then we implemented it yesterday in training, sometimes very well and sometimes less well. Yesterday was better. Of course tomorrow we want to do better and score as many goals as possible, of course," said Behringer.
    Despite the draw against Norway, Neid felt that the team have performed well so far.
    "Our performance has been good up to now. We have played two matches and are on four points. We played an excellent first half against a strong team like Norway and of course we want to try to perform that well in both halves - that is our goal. Tomorrow we will need to show qualities like playing well to the front, not leaving any space as Melanie just said, so that the Thai team can't make use of it - we want to stop that. So, we will all have to work very well together."
    The top two teams from the group automatically qualify for the quarter-finals along with the four best third-placed teams from the six groups.
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