Defending champions Germany powered into the women's World Cup semi-finals yesterday with a 3-0 win over North Korea.
Kerstin Garefrekes pounced in the 44th minute and Renate Lingor and Annike Krahn hit the target in the second half to ensure Germany remain on track to be the only team to defend its title since the World Cup began 16 years ago.
It also kept intact their record of never having lost to an Asian team in World Cup history, having six wins out of six with 13 goals scored to none conceded.
PHOTO: AFP
Their victory sets up a semi-final against either host nation China or 1995 champions Norway in Tianjin on Wednesday.
"North Korea was one of our favorites for the title so to beat them gives us a lot of optimism moving forward," said German coach Silvia Neid, declining to say whether she would rather face China or Norway next.
"We were very good in defense but it was a good team performance. We didn't give them space in midfield, which was key to the game, and we scored goals at the right time," she said.
Germany went into the match at Wuhan Sports Center Stadium as clear favorites but wary of a North Korean side seen as the dark horses of the tournament after impressive form in the group games.
In a flowing first-half, Germany had the first chance in the seventh minute when Garefrekes sent a weak left-foot shot wide from the edge of the penalty area.
A minute later Melanie Behringer let rip from long-range with her piledriver narrowly off target.
North Korea came close with 11 minutes on the clock as striker Kim Yong-ae broke free and toe-poked a shot under pressure. Goalkeeper Nadine Angerer half-saved but Ri Un-gyung was unable to take advantage of the loose ball.
Germany brought roars from the sparse crowd in the 28th minute when Behringer whipped over a cross from the left and Sandra Smisek's diving header flew into the side-netting.
Midfielder Garefrekes finally got what Germany deserved in the 44th minute when she picked up the ball on the edge of the area and curled a left-foot shot past the diving Jon Myong-hui.
North Korea came out fired up in the second period with most of the opening 20 minutes played in Germany's half.
Three Korean players failed to find the net in a goalmouth scramble in the 64th minute and they came close soon after when Angerer pulled off an acrobatic save.
But Neid's charges soaked up the pressure and against the run of play Germany made it 2-0 in the 67th minute when Smisek played a delicate backheel into the path of Lingor, who made no mistake.
The Germans piled forward and Krahn put the game beyond doubt by scoring from a corner with 18 minutes left.
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was
RALLY: It was only the second time the Taiwanese has partnered with Kudermetova, and the match seemed tight until they won seven points in a row to take the last set 10-2 Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix women’s doubles final in Stuttgart, Germany. The pair defeated Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a tightly contested match at the WTA 500 tournament. Chan and Kudermetova fell 4-6 in the first set after having their serve broken three times, although they played increasingly well. They fought back in the second set and managed to break their opponents’ serve in the eighth game to triumph 6-3. In the tiebreaker, Chan and Kudermetova took a 3-0 lead before their opponents clawed back two points, but