Germany back in business
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Article summary
Germany 3-0 Belgium Kerstin Garefrekes, Sandra Minnert and Birgit Prinz scored without reply in front of a 17,000 sell-out crowd in Lubeck.
Article body
Germany's first competitive game since winning the FIFA Women's World Cup brought them three more UEFA WOMEN'S EURO 2009™ qualifying Group 4 points as Kerstin Garefrekes, Sandra Minnert and Birgit Prinz scored without reply against Belgium in front of a 17,000 sell-out crowd in Lubeck.
Three changes
Silvia Neid made three changes to the team which defeated Brazil 2-0 in the final in China, with Saskia Bartusiak, Minnert and Martina Müller replacing injured trio Simone Laudehr, Renate Lingor and Sandra Smisek. Müller created the eighth-minute opener for Garefrekes, and two minutes later Minnert headed in a corner.
Prinz strike
Germany then dropped the pace and struggled to lift their game, and they had to wait until the 74th minute for Prinz to register her 116th international goal. Neid’s side top Group 4 with 12 points from four games ahead of Thursday’s trip to the Netherlands as Germany continue their bid for a fifth straight title.
