Germany's first-half treble too much for Scotland
Saturday, June 15, 2013
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Germany 3-0 Scotland
Silvia Neid's team stepped up their UEFA Women's EURO 2013 preparations with a comfortable friendly victory in Essen.
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Célia Okoyino da Mbabi, the 17-goal top scorer in qualifying, struck twice in the first half as Germany defeated Scotland 3-0 in their first UEFA Women's EURO 2013 warm-up match.
After Lena Goessling had given Silvia Neid's team the lead in front of 10,000 spectators in Essen, Okoyino da Mbabi put the outcome beyond doubt with a quick-fire double.
Germany continue their finals build-up on Wednesday against 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup hosts Canada in Paderborn and Neid will name her squad of 23 the following day.
After facing world champions Japan in Munich on 29 June, Germany begin their Group B campaign against Norway on 11 July before taking on the Netherlands and Iceland, who lost 3-0 at home to Scotland earlier this month.
Goessling's 34th-minute opener was just the tonic Germany needed after encountering some problems with Scotland's aggressive pressing game in the early stages. The midfielder found the net with a shot which goalkeeper Gemma Fay had no answer to.
Okoyino da Mbabi then registered twice in the space of 60 seconds, first after dispossessing Leanne Ross and beating Fay with a shot from the edge of the penalty box. Moments later the 24-year-old finished off a fine team move.
Germany dominated in the second half without adding to their lot. They now turn their attention to the challenge Canada will pose. "Today we saw that we have a lot of good, young players,” said Neid. "Canada will be maybe one or two levels better [than Scotland], so we will be tested a lot more defensively."
Scotland – denied a finals place by a last-gasp Spain play-off winner – are preparing for World Cup qualifying, starting on 22 September with a trip to the Faroe Islands.