Former champions Germany and Norway got off to winning starts at the FIFA Women’s World Cup on Sunday as newcomers Ivory Coast and Thailand took a battering.
Germany whipped the Ivory Coast 10-0 after Norway thrashed Thailand 4-0 in the opening round of Group B matches at the Lansdowne Stadium in Ottawa.
The 2003 and 2007 winners took five goals in either half against Ivory Coast, who at No. 67 in the world are the lowest ranked team in the tournament.
Photo: Sean Kilpatrick / The Canadian Press via AP
Hat-tricks from Celia Sasic (3, 14, 31) and Anja Mittag (29, 35, 64) put the world’s top team on their way, with Simone Laudehr (71), Sara Daebritz (75), Melanie Behringer (79) and Alexandra Popp (85) continuing the rout.
Germany coach Silvia Neid said even she was surprised by ease with which her side won against a team who qualified by finishing third at last year’s African Championship.
“We had judged them to be better than they were today,” Neid said. “We outran them and are glad that we took home the three points. Ivory Coast came up quite a bit, it was a different style, and it was very easy to get behind their lines — we know that Norway will be much tougher on Thursday.”
Ivory Coast coach Clementine Toure said it was a tough learning experience for her players.
“From this game, we have positive points we can take out — the experience,” Toure said. “It’s our first participation in the World Cup and our girls discovered something today — a high level of competition and it did have an effect on us a little bit. We must forget the score from today, forget the negative points and learn from this. Playing the best team in the world is also the best way to learn for us.”
The best goal of the game was Mittag’s second, when she picked up a Tabea Kemme cross and hammered the ball into the back of the net, and but for some saves by Ivory Coast goalkeeper Dominique Thiamale the damage could have been more severe for Les Elephantes.
Germany maintained their unbeaten opening-match World Cup record, while no African team have ever won their first game.
Earlier Norway, the 1995 champions, outclassed Asian newcomers Thailand.
Veteran skipper Trine Ronning opened the scoring after quarter of an hour, with Isabell Herlovsen claiming a quick-fire brace after 29 and 34 minutes, and Ada Hegerberg’s 68th-minute header sealing the victory.
“The first game of the tournament is always nerve-wracking,” Norway coach Even Pellerud said. “We are happy to have three points, but we have to improve aspects of our play against other teams.”
“Getting the first goal would have given us a morale boost more than anything, because we were playing a superior team,” Thailand coach Nuengruethai Sathongwien said.
Germany and Norway are due to fight for first place in the group on Thursday in Ottawa, in a repeat of the last European championship final in 2013 which Germany won. Thailand and the Ivory Coast tackle each other as they search for their first World Cup points.
Yesterday’s action included four matches. In Group C, reigning champions Japan were due to open against Switzerland, while two newcomers, Cameroon and Ecuador, were to bid for their first World Cup points in Vancouver.
In Winnipeg, the US, former two-time winners, were due to take on Australia, while Sweden were due to tackle African champions Nigeria in Group D.
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