Five for Grings in German romp

The first UEFA European Women's Championship qualifier of the year brought a resounding win for Germany, the world champions defeating Portugal 11-0 in Albufeira.

Five for Grings
Inka Grings was the chief tormentor of the Portuguese, scoring five times. The player of the 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup™, Birgit Prinz, also struck a hat-trick which included the opening goal in the tenth minute. Carla Monteiro's 14th-minute own goal made it 2-0 to Germany before Grings (22), Prinz (35) and Renate Lingor (40) completed the first-half scoring.

Devastating spell
Grings then scored the next four goals in a devastating eleven-minute spell before Prinz completed her hat-trick with ten minutes remaining. With Portuguese heads down, Conny Pohlers made it 11-0 late on.

Coach content
Germany coach Tina Theune-Meyer was quick to heap praise on her side. "The girls performed very well from the start despite a lack of match practice," she said. "I think we have done a lot for our reputation. Inka Grings deserves special praise and not just for her five goals."

Finals in England
Theune-Meyer's side are on course to win Group 4 and qualify automatically for the 2005 final tournament in England. Germany have won all five of their qualifiers, scoring 36 goals and conceding just one, and are next in action on 28 April at home to Ukraine, the bottom side in the section.