Munich Hosts Germany’s Women

Posted: 9:12 pm, June 25, 2013 by Jonathan Harding

Germany’s women have one more friendly fixture on their calendar ahead of the 2013 European Championships in Sweden as they face Japan in Munich on Saturday.

Manager Silvia Neid has been left a real task ahead of the approaching tournament after a spate of injuries has left six normal choices unavailable to her. The promotion of youth is fitting for German football but it does leave Neid with six squad members that have fewer than 10 caps. Inexperience might make the rest of Europe breath a sigh of relief because Germany’s women have very much made the European championship their own, winning six of the last seven tournaments, notably the last five consecutive tournaments.

Japan’s ladies team are still riding high after their surprise 2011 World Cup win in Germany, where they beat pre-tournament favourites the USA 3-1 on a penalty shoot-out. Japan will play England on Wednesday before they travel to Germany for their final friendly ahead of the 2013 Women’s East Asia Cup in July.

Kick-off is at 17:45 and it offers Neid the last chance to experiment with her squad ahead of the tournament in Sweden.