Many people would have predicted Germany to win the women's Euro 2013, rightly so after they had already won 5 in a row, but the team certainly showed what they could do and on the 28th July and won the competition celebrating in style after some fantastic football against a strong and very unlucky Norway side.
Germany played well from the off with plenty of chances to break the deadlock, they had 21 shots on target compared to Norway's seven. These statistics just show how well Norway's goalkeeper Ingrid Hjelmseth did against the German side. She made some fantastic stops and if it was not for her Germany could have been five or more goals better off. The game was half and half in the first twenty minutes of the game, with Germany maybe edging it slightly up until the 28th minute until Norway's Cathrine Dekkahus was bought down to the floor and the referee awarded a penalty. Many fans have stated that they thought this was a very soft decision from the referee. The German side continued to put pressure on Norway after the penalty incident but with no goals being scored.
After a goalless first half it was not until the 48th minute that the deadlock was broken, Anja Mittag netted in the 48th minute after coming on in the second half. Even after Mittag's goal Norway stayed positive and would not back down and the squad did try and push the Germans back in to their own half. The scored stayed at 1-0 to Germany for a good while with both teams having various chances, this was the case until the 61st minute when Caroline Hansen went down and the referee looked to have had a good view of the foul. German keeper Nadine Angerer saved the penalty for a second time keeping Germany on the right path to victory. Norway were very unlucky and then in the 64th minute they had a goal disallowed by the referee as Ada Hegerberg was caught offside, the team and the coach could not believe it. 1-0 was how the score stayed allowing Germany to win their 6th straight cup but they would not have been in this position if it was not for their star goalkeeper Angerer saving two penalties.
Norway have played well through the entire tournament to get to the finals, they won games against Spain, Netherlands and Germany and drew against Denmark and Iceland. Germany also did remarkably well with wins over Iceland, Italy and Sweden, both Norway and Germany were in the same qualifying group with Norway finishing top of the group. Germany as a country are very successful in football and the national Germany side always achieve great results from cups and competitions. Also clubs within the country such as Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund are doing fantastically, becoming two of the most popular international teams alongside Barcelona and Real Madrid. The women's side have shown that they are not to be messed around either and many football supporters have been commenting on online forums on the skill they have seen during the Euro 13 and that they are thankful that there was coverage as it was well worth watching. Women's football should be shown more often as there are some very talented female footballers out there.
Do you like the Germany home shirt? Should TV broadcasters show more live coverage of women's football? Do you think that there is just as much talent in women's football as men's?
Emily writes exclusively for Soccer Box, here you can buy the latest women's football shirts, international and national jerseys and football kits. Training wear and souvenirs also available.
Germany Win Euro 2013!
July 29, 2013