Germany and China ground each other down to a nub in a close-fought 2016 Olympics women's soccer quarterfinal match, with Germany finally finding a winner in the 76th minute when Melanie Behringer got off a fantastic shot that snapped the back of the net.
Germany vs. China 2016 final score: Behringer rescues Germany in 1-0 win
It was a close-fought game, but one huge mistake from China helped Germany get the win they needed.
Felipe Oliveira/Getty Images
Much of the match played out to a fairly repetitive pattern: Germany would dominate possession, and pass the ball around waiting to find any kind of opening in China's tight-knit defense. China would collapse their lines from a bank of five midfielders in front of four defenders almost into one solid wall of nine defenders as Germany pushed up the pitch, and the German women would find themselves only with low-percentage half-chances. On the handful of occasions in the first half that Germany would actually find a passable opportunity to score, the final ball or an attacker's finish would let them down, with Dzsenifer Marozsan in particular struggling in front of goal.
Germany was handed a huge opportunity just a matter of minutes into the second half, however. Wang Shanshan had come in off the bench for striker Yang Li at the half, and picked up a yellow card quickly after a hard tackle. In the 57th minute she followed that up with a wild and high challenge that forced the referee to show her a second yellow card and send her off -- though a straight red card would have been easily justifiable in that situation as well.
That forced China to pull their defense deeper than ever, and took away any semblance of keeping up an attack that they had before. It still took Germany a long time to fully utilize their advantage, playing a woman up, but they were able to put steadily increasing pressure on China’s defense until finally cracks started to form. Those cracks gave Germany the opening the needed, and they scored in the 76th minute when Behringer came up off a secondary run and rifled off a tremendous shot that China goalkeeper Zhao Lina was helpless to stop.
Germany were given a scare in the waning minutes when China were awarded a penalty, albeit one that looked like it came off minimal contact. They were saved by the post, though, despite Wang Shuang sending German keeper Almuth Schultt the wrong way from the spot, and no Chinese player could get to the rebound. That allowed Germany to preserve their lead, and ultimately their win.
It was a struggle for Germany to get past China, but in the end their high-effort style found a way through. It took a bit of fortune in the form of that red card, but all that matters in the end is the final score, one that sees Germany advance to the semifinals and ultimately a guaranteed shot at an Olympic medal.
See More:
