- Olympic medal wave: women's soccer in quarterfinals
Germany's women's football team avoided a big scare and booked their place in the Olympic quarter-finals. In a dominant 4:1 (1:0) win against Zambia in Saint-Étienne, the team coached by Bundestrainer Horst Hrubesch delivered a focused performance to wrap up the group stage and carry plenty of momentum into the knockout phase.
Lea Schüller scored a brace (10th and 61st minute), Klara Bühl (48th) and Elisa Sennß (90+7) found the net for the second tournament win, which could have been even more convincing. Schüller, Bühl, and Janina Minge also hit the woodwork once each. A mistake by goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger led to the consolation goal for Zambia's Barbra Banda (50th).
In the first knockout game, the German team will face the runner-up of Group A, featuring Colombia, France, Canada, and New Zealand, in Marseille on Saturday. The opponent was yet to be determined at the time of the final whistle.
In the nearly empty Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, the German side largely kept Zambia's two feared strikers in check, although Banda celebrated her tenth Olympic goal. Rachel Kundananji struggled to make an impact. The 24-year-old, who transferred to US club Bay FC from Madrid CFF this year for a transfer fee of over 800,000 euros, is considered the most expensive player in the world.
The medal dream lives on
Unlike last year's World Cup in Australia, the German women avoided an early exit and can still hope for a gold medal like the one they won in Rio in 2016, although there's still a long way to go until the final in Paris.
In front of DFB President Bernd Neuendorf as a VIP guest, Hrubesch had to make a late change, replacing injured captain Marina Hegering with Bibiane Schulze Solano of Athletic Bilbao. With Felicitas Rauch continuing to play left-back due to Sarai Linder's illness, half of the starting defense was missing.
Kathrin Hendrich also had to be substituted early after a collision with Zambia's starting striker Banda. However, the German team remained unfazed and opened the scoring through a well-worked move involving Sjoeke Nüsken and Klara Bühl, finished coolly by Schüller.
With Canada's appeal against their six-point deduction for drone spying incidents dismissed, the German team knew that a draw would be enough to progress. They were also aware of the threat posed by Zambia, having lost 2:3 to them in a World Cup warm-up match in Fürth in 2023.
Alexandra Popp, who started with minor knee issues from the USA game, played a crucial role in midfield, breaking up play and distributing the ball with great vision alongside Janina Minge. The Wolfsburg captain even took on a more offensive role than previously and, along with Nüsken, was instrumental in Germany's dominant first-half performance.
The German women's football team is eager to continue their Olympic journey, having secured a quarter-final spot after their victory in the group stage. Their next challenge is against the runner-up of Group A, potentially facing teams like Colombia, France, Canada, or New Zealand in Marseille on Saturday. And as they progress in the Olympic Games, they keep the dream of defending their gold medal, won in Rio in 2016, alive.
