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Germany secures quarterfinal place

Ross DunbarJune 21, 2015

Germany is the first team into the quarterfinals of the 2015 World Cup after a comprehensive win over Sweden. Silvia Neid's side could face their toughest test yet against heavily-fancied France in the last-eight.

https://p.dw.com/p/1FkKQ
Frauen Fußball WM Deutschland gegen Schweden
Image: D. Grombkowski/Bongarts/Getty

Germany 4-1 Sweden
(Mittag 24', Sasic 35' pen, 78', Marozsan 88' - Sembrant 82')

Celia Sasic scored a double as Germany beat Sweden 4-1 to reach the quarterfinals of the Women's World Cup for the sixth consecutive tournament.

The Frankfurt striker helped her side win the Champions League at club level, and has continued that rich vein of form into the Women's World Cup in Canada.

After Anja Mittag put the Germans ahead on 24 minutes, Sasic scored from the spot before completing the rout in the second half despite Sweden's late fightback.

Mittag, who was a runner-up with PSG in the Champions League final, has been similarly prolific in Canada with five goals in four matches. She was one of seven players recalled to the starting eleven by head coach Silvia Neid, with Lena Goessling another key player returning to her role in midfield.

On 24 minutes, the striker finished off a neat passing move involving Sasic from around 20 yards out, tucking the ball into the bottom-corner of the net. Mittag was then bundled over in the box by defender Amanda Ilestedt and the Sasic converted the spot-kick with ease on 35 minutes.

Late threat extinguished

Frauen Fußball WM Deutschland gegen Schweden
Germany have reached all six quarterfinals since the Women's World Cup was formed in 1992Image: GettyImages/AFP/N. Kamm

With a 2-0 cushion, Germany had ample opportunities to run up the scoreline. Sasic and Goessling missed chances in the penalty box before the hour mark, while Alexandra Popp couldn't add to her one tournament goal after wasting some chances.

Sasic added a third to all-but kill the tie with 22 minutes left as she became the fourth German of all-time to score five goals at a Women's World Cup.

But Sweden scored a consolation on 82 minutes when Linda Sembrandt showed courage to power home a header.

Had Sofia Jakobsson added to her 11 international goals for Sweden, the game could have ended differently. She was one-on-one with Nadine Angerer on 84 minutes, but the German goalie rushed off her line and did well to deny the Swede.

In the end, Germany would react with a killer blow to restore their three-goal advantage. Half-time substitute Dzsenifer Marozsan threw herself to the floor to win possession, and the ball bizarrely flew into the top corner from around 25 yards.

"You can't score four goals against Sweden all the time, so we earned our place in the quarterfinals. That was a crucial match for us," coach Neid told German TV post-match.

Germany's opponents in the quarterfinals will be confirmed on Sunday when France, who are one of the favorites for the tournament, face South Korea in Montreal.