Germany coach surprised by China's performance

RENNES - Germany's head Coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg admitted that she felt surprised by opponents China's performance following a 1-0 win in the FIFA Women's World Cup Group B match here on Saturday.

"I'm very surprised by the Chinese team's performance. It was a competitive match, not a friendly match. It's important for players to get experience.

"From time to time, we were not so great. It's a dream to win the title, not the goal. But as we play in the World Cup, we want to go as far as we can. We want to achieve this.

"Our one goal is qualification for the Olympics. It's not easy. We realize that how difficult the game is. Now we look at next challenge against Spain," Voss-Tecklenburg pointed out.

"I felt very relieved as we scored the goal and won the match," she added.

Giulia Gwinn, 19, fired the only goal for Germany in the 66th minute. Then the second-ranked side held on to bag full points in the first round.

"Definitely it's great to see that she has got better and better in her position. It's very important that our young players fought through difficult matches and had the experience. They know how it felt to play World Cup matches with difficulties and strengths.

"She scored the goal, which gave her confidence, and showed what she was capable of doing. We have many young players. They have realized that World Cup match is totally different from training session.

"We fought very hard. There's a low point during the match, but we managed to pick ourselves up.

Voss-Tecklenburg thought that not just one Chinese player impressed her, including Wang Shuang and Yang Li.

"We know they can develop scoring chances with strong offense. We are able to handle this problem also thanks to our goalie.

"I focus on my team, and assess the whole game. Our overall team performance is as expected. It would be easier for us to score a goal in the first 20 minutes as it could give more confidence.

"But many matches that we play China are quite close in the end. China is a strong and aggressive opponent, and they never give up, which they showed today on the pitch," the German coach commented.