GERMANY DOWNS SWEDEN
Penalty-kick goal deflates underdogs in loss to top-ranked Women’s World Cup team
OTTAWA — A bad giveaway by Sweden put the underdogs in an early hole Saturday afternoon.
An even worse call sealed its fate as Germany advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup with a 4-1 win in front of a packed house of 22,486 at Lansdowne Stadium.
Sweden, meanwhile, will head home with no love lost for North Korean referee Ri Hyang Ok after she awarded a penalty kick on a highly questionable call.
German forward Celia Sasic made no mistake on penalty given after a play in the Swedish box resulted in minimal contact between Swedish defender Amanda Ilestedt and Germany’s Anja Mittag, who went to the ground easily. Sasic added some insurance in the 88th minute with her second of the game and fourth in five matches.
German midfielder Dzsenifer Marozsan added some insurance in the 88th minute after Sweden’s Linda Sembrant briefly made things interesting at 3-1 with a header off teammate Jennifer Cramer’s free kick.
But the German attack was merciless for much of the match, with the world’s top ranked team barely allowing Sweden to touch the ball in the first few minutes, though the Swedes were able to get through the early onslaught unscathed and keep them at bay until Mittag scored her fifth goal in four Women’s World Cup games in the 24th minute.
The penalty kick was particularly deflating for Sweden and, other than some late pressure, they weren’t able to threaten much. Mittag said “there was contact” on the play leading to the penalty kick, while Sweden coach Pia Sundhage wasn’t going to get caught up in the controversy, though she said it was “so much tougher” to get back into the game after going down 2-0, that wasn’t what cost them the game.
“There are a couple of calls you probably could argue,” Sundhage said. “If you want to win that kind of game, when Germany plays that well, you need everything going your way and it did not.”
At the end of the day, said the former U.S. women’s national team coach, Germany was simply the better side.
“Every Germany player seems to be comfortable with the ball, changing direction and (creating chances),” she said. “When we had the possession, it was a little bit hard to speed up the game and create some chances.”
Mittag was named player of the game and his been half of a formidable duo with Sasic.
“We’ve known each other for a long time,” Mittag said of her teammate. “I think we know how to play together; she likes to go deep, I like to be close to the back line and it’s good for both of us.
“It’s cool that (both player’s success) happens in this tournament, but it’s (more) important that we made it to the quarter-final.”
German coach Silvia Neid commended her players for coming out hard from the opening kick, despite the fact it was 38 C at pitch level. The temperature didn’t stop Neid from pacing in the technical box, cupping her hands to yell instructions to her players even while Germany was comfortably ahead.
“That’s called coaching,” Neid said when asked about her stress level during the game.
“I am a very emotional, impulsive person, it’s hard for me to sit back in my arm chair and watch what’s happening.”
Sweden’s loss could have major implications on the country’s chance of qualifying for the 2016 Olympics. It would be the first time ever Sweden failed to qualify for the Games and Sundhage said that “would not be good” for the country.
Sundhage and her players lingered on the field for about 10 minutes after the final whistle. While the coach wouldn’t say what she told her players, she said the loss hurt.
“I’m really sad (with) the fact that we didn’t advance to the next round because it means so much to the women’s game in Sweden,” she said.
Germany will play the winner of Sunday’s game between France and Korea Republic. That quarter-final is set for Friday in Montreal.