Teenager Kulig collects plaudits

Just over a year ago, Kim Kulig was in the Germany side whose reign as UEFA European Women's Under-19 Championship holders was ended in a heartbreaking penalty shoot-out defeat by Norway. She could only have dreamt that she would have been starting a 4-0 win against the same nation at UEFA WOMEN'S EURO 2009™.

Praise
But not only did the 19-year-old do just that on Monday, she also received the Carlsberg Player of the Match award in just her tenth senior appearance for a strong performance alongside experienced defensive midfield partner Linda Bresonik. Germany coach Silvia Neid, who gave Kulig her senior debut against China in February, said: "Led by Linda Bresonik, [Kulig] put on an extraordinary performance in midfield, strong in the air and in tackles, always in the right place playing precise passes."

Better side
However the Hamburger SV player, expertly taking her chance in the injury absence of Simone Laudehr, was keen to spread the credit after a Group B win clinched with three late goals. "Today all of us could have received this award," Kulig told uefa.com. "We proved over 90 minutes to be the better side. We should have converted our chances better earlier, but at the end we showed that we are able to score."

Vow
Kulig had an early setback with a fifth-minute yellow card, but she had experience of a similar swift booking in their 2008 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup opener against DR Congo in Chile last autumn. "In such a game an early booking isn't really helpful, but luckily I could deal with it and nothing happened," Kulig said, before vowing to maintain her high standards on Thursday against France. "Winning the first game is an advantage for us. France will be another strong opponent, even if they have a different style of play. I again have to show what I can do and I hope we can also repeat our performance as a team."