Germany profit from happy Knaak

Hat-trick heroine Turid Knaak admitted the shock of conceding an equaliser to Scotland spurred Germany into action and ultimately a 5-1 victory which secured their place in the UEFA European Women's Under-19 Championship semi-finals.

For the first time in the competition this season, Maren Meinert's team had a lead cancelled out and, in temperatures nudging 30C, were in danger of losing a perfect record which had stood since beginning their campaign in the second qualifying round. Knaak, however, had other ideas.

The 19-year-old winger quickly restored her side's advantage before completing her treble with one of three late goals which gave the scoreline a somewhat flattering appearance for the three-time champions. "After the equaliser we said we wanted to win at all costs," the FCR 2001 Duisburg player told UEFA.com. "There was a little anger in the belly and we wanted to win at any price; we succeeded."

As well as her haul of goals, Knaak capped a superb individual display by setting up substitute Annika Doppler for Germany's fifth, in added time. So, which one was her favourite? "The first one; because it helped lead us to victory," she said of her perfectly-executed volley on the cusp of half-time. "It's a good feeling to score three goals for Germany."

Next up in Group A is an England team also through after defeating Italy 2-1. Knaak has a score to settle after losing 4-1 to the holders in a March friendly in La Manga, Spain. "The match is important because we want to finish top of the group and we won't let that opportunity slip away from us," said Knaak, joint top-scorer at the final tournament on three alongside the Netherlands' Lieke Martens.

"We want to start in a good position in the semi-finals. We're looking forward to playing England. We want revenge because we lost before qualifying so there is something to set straight."