This Thursday, August 3, at the Women’s World Cup, Germany, second in the world in the FIFA rankings, was eliminated after being surpassed in its group by Colombia and Morocco. Morocco, who will meet France in the round of 16 next Tuesday, managed an unexpected qualification with 6 points in their first appearance at a World Cup, following their 1-0 victory against Colombia in Perth.
The players, coached by Frenchman Reynald Pedros, secured second place with two wins from three games, dethroning the Germans, who picked up just 4 points and were beaten 6-0 in the opener. Colombia (6 pts), first in the game on goal difference against Morocco, will face Jamaica in the eighth.
The fall is severe for the Mannschaft, one of the favorites for the title, which has always reached the quarter-finals in each of its previous participations. The reigning European vice-champions had their destiny in their hands, but they stammered against South Korea (1-1), in Brisbane, during a crazy evening that few observers predicted. They were surprised from the start, by Cho So-hyun, who took advantage of a gross defensive alignment error to score in the 6th minute, alone against goalkeeper Merle Frohms.
Frohms had distinguished herself just before (2nd), deflecting on her post a dangerous shot from Casey Phair who, at 16, came within inches of becoming the youngest goalscorer in the history of the competition.
As a good captain, the experienced Alexandra Popp equalized with a header (42nd) to straighten her team, won by nervousness. This goal would have been enough if, almost at the same time, Morocco had not opened the scoring against Colombia, by Anissa Lahmari (45th 4).
At half-time, despite a draw, Germany were eliminated and needed a win to move back into the top two. Despite Svenja Huth (59th) and Sydney Lohmann (90th 10), they never managed to deceive the vigilance of the South Koreans, who left the competition with their heads held high.
