Nigeria Content Online

Captain
of the German women’s national team Birgit Prinz doesn’t think it will
be a stroll in the park for she and her colleagues when they come up
against Nigeria’s Super Falcons at next year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup.

The Germans, who
have won the past two editions of the World Cup, were on Monday grouped
alongside Nigeria, Canada and France in Group A of the tournament which
doesn’t get underway until June 26 next year.

Only recently, the
Super Falcons, still fresh from their victory at the African Women’s
Championship in South Africa, were mauled 8-0 by their German
counterparts when both sides met in an international friendly in
Leverkusen.

But despite
Germany’s outstanding recent victories over Nigeria, Prinz insists she
is not expecting an easy ride at the World Cup.

“It will certainly
be difficult,” said the German captain and three-times Women’s World
Player of the Year, Prinz, who recently announced plans to retire after
the World Cup in an interview with German radio station Deutsche Welle.

However, the
Nigerian’s weren’t the only team in Group A to have suffered defeat at
the hands of the Germans in recent times as Canada, who the Germans
will face in the tournament’s opening match in Berlin, were on the
receiving end of a 5-0 hammering in September.

“That is not the
norm,” continued Prinz. “It was a warm-up game that went relatively
well for us. I don’t think that the opening game will be settled so
decisively.”

Prinz also told
German daily tabloid, Bild shortly after Monday’s World Cup draw in
Frankfurt that: “Both Canada and Nigeria can be difficult opponents and
we can’t take anything for granted against them.”

German coach agrees

Prinz, who is the
most capped player in German football history, as well as the team’s
record goal scorer, wasn’t the only member of the German team to bare
her thoughts on the draw. Her coach, Silvia Neid also expressed
satisfaction with the outcome of Monday’s show in Frankfurt.

“I just have to
take whatever we get,” said Neid, philosophically. “In that regard, I’m
satisfied. We are happy that we know who we are going to play against.”

Neid, who back at
the inaugural Women’s World Cup in 1991, grabbed Germany’s opening goal
in their 4-0 drubbing of the Super Falcons, nevertheless told Bild that
her team cannot take any of their Group A opponents for granted even
though it is not the toughest group in the tournament; a honour that
belongs to Group C which consists of three of the top six in FIFA world
rankings – the United States, Sweden and Korea. “We are very pleased
with the group,” Neid told Bild. “But you certainly cannot say that we
are already in the quarterfinals.

“Under no circumstances will we take our opponents lightly.”