Former world champions Germany is set to win a consecutive Group B 2023 Women’s World Cup match when they face Colombia on Sunday at Sydney Football Stadium in Australia. Both teams recorded comfortable wins in their first matches, with Germany overpowering debutants Morocco in a one-sided affair, while Colombia outwitted South Korea through sheer wit and solid finishing to take home all three points last time out. First-match wins have put both teams in a good place moving forward in the tournament, and they will be looking to build on their fine performances as the tournament progresses.
Germany made light work of first-timers Morocco, with experienced striker Alex Popp scoring a brace in the first half. The second half would resume with more goals, with Klara Buhl scoring the third after just 21 seconds and the Moroccans conceding two own goals courtesy of Hanane Ait El Haj and Zineb Redouan. The final goal came in the final minute of normal time, scored by Lea Schuller, rounding off a comfortable win for the Euro 2022 runners-up and marking the team’s biggest win in the World Cup since 2007. The second-best team in the world as ranked by FIFA will be looking to go deep into the competition and probably match their 2003 exploits, where they took home the trophy after beating Sweden in a thrilling final in the United States.
Coming to the World Cup finals for just the third time, Colombia showed much experience and grit to overcome South Korea in just their second World Cup win. Catalina Usme sent the goalkeeper the wrong way for a thirtieth-minute penalty, and young midfielder Caicedo wrapped up the win with a fine long-range shot that stung the goalkeeper’s gloves before finding its way into the net. Surprisingly, that is the first goal to be scored from outside the box in the tournament.
While Germany will be missing the services of left-back Felicitas Rauch as she picked up a knee injury. Lena Oberdorf and Marina Hegering are also doubts for this match, as they also missed the match against the North Africans. Colombia, on the other hand, will be looking to take Caicedo back into the squad as she was reported to have collapsed during training. However, reports have come in stating she is fine and in good condition to face group favorites Germany. Germany is surely favourites for this encounter, but with the number of surprises that have occurred in this tournament so far, no one is counting out a draw or Colombia win.
Get your popcorn ready, it promises to be an encounter that will define who progresses to the next stage of the tournament.