The situation is clear for the Germany Women's team going into their final group match at the European Championship against Russia in Utrecht this evening (20:45 CEST). A win would send Germany through to the quarterfinal stage, potentially as group winners. This will depend on the result of the other match in Group B, in which Sweden, who are level on points with Germany but have scored one goal more, play Italy. A draw for Germany would also be enough to send the reigning champions through to the next round.
Current Germany head coach Steffi Jones' first match in charge was against Russia last September, after she had succeeded Silvia Neid at the helm. Germany won that EURO qualifier 4-0 through goals from Leonie Maier, Kathrin Hendrich, Lena Petermann and an own goal. However, Jones is warning, "It won't be a given, but we don't just want to score one goal, we want two or three. We want a clear victory against Russia."
Jones: "We need to be more purposeful"
Germany's record against Russia is encouraging. In 19 previous meetings between the nations, Germany have won 17 and drawn two. Against no other team have Germany played so many matches without losing. Germany have won all of the last eleven meeting between the sides and kept a clean sheet in six of those contests. The two countries have met on three previous occasions at the European Championship, with Germany winning all three games with a goal ratio of 10:0.
Jones' focus is on the attack after the opening 0-0 draw with Sweden and the 2-1 win over Italy in which Germany's goals came from Josephine Henning and Babett Peter. "We need to be more purposeful in attack, have more precision in the final third, greater sharpness in our passing and be more decisive in front of goal," said the 44-year-old. "I'm convinced that that will happen and it'll all come together. We also want to be more commanding and compact defensively."
A big margin of victory could mean that Germany will progress as group winners and face Denmark in the quarterfinal as opposed to hosts and undefeated Group A winners, the Netherlands. However, no one in the Germany camp is thinking about potential outcomes. "We're just concentrating on ourselves and want to win, nothing else is in our hands," said full-back Leonie Maier, who is expecting an aggressive opponent: "It will be a similarly hard game to against Italy. Russia will fight until the very end.
The situation is clear for the Germany Women's team going into their final group match at the European Championship against Russia in Utrecht this evening (20:45 CEST). A win would send Germany through to the quarterfinal stage, potentially as group winners. This will depend on the result of the other match in Group B, in which Sweden, who are level on points with Germany but have scored one goal more, play Italy. A draw for Germany would also be enough to send the reigning champions through to the next round.
Current Germany head coach Steffi Jones' first match in charge was against Russia last September, after she had succeeded Silvia Neid at the helm. Germany won that EURO qualifier 4-0 through goals from Leonie Maier, Kathrin Hendrich, Lena Petermann and an own goal. However, Jones is warning, "It won't be a given, but we don't just want to score one goal, we want two or three. We want a clear victory against Russia."
Jones: "We need to be more purposeful"
Germany's record against Russia is encouraging. In 19 previous meetings between the nations, Germany have won 17 and drawn two. Against no other team have Germany played so many matches without losing. Germany have won all of the last eleven meeting between the sides and kept a clean sheet in six of those contests. The two countries have met on three previous occasions at the European Championship, with Germany winning all three games with a goal ratio of 10:0.
Jones' focus is on the attack after the opening 0-0 draw with Sweden and the 2-1 win over Italy in which Germany's goals came from Josephine Henning and Babett Peter. "We need to be more purposeful in attack, have more precision in the final third, greater sharpness in our passing and be more decisive in front of goal," said the 44-year-old. "I'm convinced that that will happen and it'll all come together. We also want to be more commanding and compact defensively."
A big margin of victory could mean that Germany will progress as group winners and face Denmark in the quarterfinal as opposed to hosts and undefeated Group A winners, the Netherlands. However, no one in the Germany camp is thinking about potential outcomes. "We're just concentrating on ourselves and want to win, nothing else is in our hands," said full-back Leonie Maier, who is expecting an aggressive opponent: "It will be a similarly hard game to against Italy. Russia will fight until the very end.
