Women’s World Cup 2019: Germany maintain 100% record as Spain and China draw sees both qualify for last 16
Reigning Olympic champions finally deliver on their potential to send out a statement victory at the World Cup as China face up to what it will take to challenge the elite sides in the knockout stages
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Your support makes all the difference.Player of the match Sara Dabritz admitted she was proud of Germany's winning record after they sealed top spot in the Women's World Cup Group B with a comfortable 4-0 victory over South Africa.
Following narrow 1-0 wins in their opening two matches against China and Spain, the reigning Olympic champions progressed to the last 16 in style, while their opponents were sent home after three defeats
Goals from Melanie Leupolz, Dabritz, Alexandra Popp and Lina Magull made it maximum points from the group stage in Montpellier on Monday.
Former Bayern Munich midfielder Dabritz - who signed for Paris Saint-Germain last month - doubled Germany's tally on the half-hour mark as she got on the scoresheet for the second successive game.
She said in her post-match interview: "We won 4-0 today and we go through with nine points after three games.
"We can be proud of that."
Germany captain and scorer of the third goal, Popp was pleased with her side's performance and was delighted to get on the scoresheet.
She added: "It was important at first for us to let the ball go. We saw that we could play football.
"Being able to score a goal is good for my self-confidence."
Germany must wait to find out their next opponents, who they take on in Saturday's round-of-16 clash at Stade des Alpes in Grenoble.
Jia Xiuguan praised the efforts and the spirit of his players as China secured a place in the last 16 of the Women's World Cup by holding Spain to a goalless draw in Le Harve.
With a point enough to qualify both nations out of Group B alongside Germany, it was Spain who had the better of the chances as the game ended 0-0.
A share of the spoils saw Jorge Vilda's Spain finish as runners-up and China progress as one of the four third-placed sides with the best record.
Spain dominated possession and crafted enough opportunities to win the game but were kept out by a defiant Chinese defence.
Xiguan said after the game that he is aware there is a gap between China and the elite sides challenging for the title in France but was happy with the application of his players.
"They have played really well," he said at the post-match press conference.
"To build a strong team, it needs generations, it cannot just be done over one generation.
"Also we see the gap between us and the world-class teams. It's very difficult, no matter who our opponents are.
"We need to put 200 per cent of our efforts in and we need to do it in a concerted way.
"Although it was a draw, we got one point which means we have the opportunity to continue to the next level. That's why I'm so touched by our players' efforts and by the spirit."
Spain will come up against the United States or Sweden next Monday after finishing behind Germany. Vilda credits a narrow loss to the USA - the reigning world champions, - in a January friendly for showing his side how they needed to operate against the top teams.
"Playing against (the United States) for the first time made us understand what playing against such fast players with great technique within a well-learned system would mean," he said.
"This is something we've studied.
"This is a game where any small detail can change things so we're going to look at what we've done and try and correct our mistakes and try to call on our strengths in the run up to the game. So we'll try and do what we do best."
PA
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