With the way Germany and France have been playing, they would’ve been a worthy World Cup final matchup. Instead, someone’s unfortunately going home way too early as the two European giants meet in the quarterfinals.
Germany has been tearing opponents apart during this tournament, but France has the firepower to give the Germans a fight. Who will come out on top for a place in the final four? Read on for our preview of this mouthwatering quarterfinal clash.
Meanwhile, click here and check out which teams the top women’s soccer experts have picked to make it all the way through to the final.
Germany showed Sweden no mercy as it demolished the Scandinavians 4-1 in their round of 16 matchup on Saturday. The Germans, ranked No. 1 in the world, were on a completely different level compared to the Swedes, who are ranked No. 5 but were made to look so much worse. The Germans dominated right from the opening whistle as they poured 25 shots onto Sweden’s goal, with 11 on target.
[sc:Soccer240banner ]The incredibly prolific strike partnership of Anja Mittag and Celia Sasic combined for three of the Germans’ four goals, while Dzsenifer Marozsan added a fourth two minutes from time. Mittag and Sasic have been sensational throughout the tournament, and are its co-leading scorers with five goals each in four matches.
Germany has simply been a cut above every other team in this World Cup. Aside from a 1-1 draw against Norway, the Germans have won their other three matches in very convincing fashion. They have an amazing plus-17 goal difference (19 goals scored, just two conceded) in the tournament, 11 goals better than second-place France.
The Germans will face arguably their toughest test to date in France, but they have more than enough about them to pass it with flying colors. Mittag and Sasic have simply been locked in on goal, as has the rest of the German attack. Germany has more shots on target (52) than off target (46) in the tournament.
Meanwhile, the Germans have an equally imposing defense that can prevent the talented French forwards from creating too many goalscoring opportunities. Germany has allowed just 17 total shots in four games, and only eight have been on target.
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Betting on France
France has found its form at exactly the right time. After demolishing Mexico in their final group game, Les Bleues blew away South Korea, 3-0, in the round of 16. For the second straight game, the French were very quick out of the gate and were ahead by two goals within 10 minutes. Marie Laure Delie grabbed a brace, while Elodie Thomis added the other goal.
The insertion of Delie, who has now scored three goals in the last two games, and Thomis into the starting lineup has had a transformative effect on the French attack, which has been much more clinical in front of goal. France has an aggregate score of 8-0 in the two games with both in the starting 11.
If there’s any team that can fight fire with fire with the mighty Germans, it’s France and its star-studded attack. Strikers Delie and Eugenie Le Sommer have three goals each in the tournament, the second-highest scoring tandem behind Mittag and Sasic. Meanwhile, playmaker Louise Necib bounced back well in her return against the Koreans after being dropped in the Mexico game.
The French have also been very impressive defensively. They’ve kept clean sheets in three of their four matches, with the lone exception being their shock 2-0 loss to Colombia. Much of that success has been due to Les Bleues’ ability to control the game through dominating possession. The French have had at least 58 percent of possession in all four of their matches.
It’ll be quite a challenge to control that much possession against the Germans, who are equally adept at dominating the ball. But if the French can successfully keep the ball away from the likes of Mittag and Sasic, that gives them a very good shot of pulling off the upset.
Writer’s Prediction
Germany (-105) takes France’s best shot and comes out on top. The Germans go through to the semis with a 2-1 win.
