Inka Grings and Birgit Prinz scored two goals apiece on Thursday to lead defending champions Germany past England 6-2 in the women’s European Championship final.
It was the fifth straight European title for two-time defending world champions Germany, who beat England for the 17th time in their last 19 meetings.
The Germans took a 2-0 lead on Prinz’s low shot in the 20th minute and Melanie Behringer’s 30m drive two minutes later.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Karen Carney gave England hope when she cut the deficit to 2-1 in the 24th minute.
Kim Kulig, a 19-year-old midfielder, put Germany 3-1 up by netting a rebound from close range in the 51st minute.
Kelly Smith reduced the deficit to just one goal again with a shot from a tough angle four minutes later, but Grings put the game out of reach with two goals, first a header in the 62nd minute and then a left-foot shot near the right post 11 minutes later.
PHOTO: REUTERS
It was Grings’ tournament-leading fifth and six goals.
Prinz ended the scoring in the 76th minute, beating England goalkeeper Rachel Brown with a shot after being left unmarked inside the penalty area.
It was Prinz’s first two goals in the tournament.
The 31-year-old midfielder has now scored 125 goals for the national team.
For England, who knocked out the Netherlands in the semi-finals, it was a first major final since finishing runners-up at the inaugural European Championship 25 years ago. Germany beat Norway in the other semi-final.
The final drew a crowd of 8,000, including UEFA president Michel Platini, at the Olympic Stadium.
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Taiwan kept its hopes of advancing to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome last night, backed by solid pitching. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The win was crucial for Taiwan, as a loss would have eliminated the team from contention for the next WBC. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸) struck out one and allowed no hits, except for
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Team Taiwan avoided missing the World Baseball Classic (WBC) for the first time by defeating Spain 6-3 in a do-or-die game in Taipei last night. After narrowly escaping a mercy-rule loss to Spain in the WBC Qualifiers opener on Friday last week, the home team — winner of last year's WBSC Premier12 title three months ago — got their revenge against the 2023 European champions at Taipei Dome. "It felt quite different from when we won the Premier12," Taiwan captain Chen Chieh-hsien (陳傑憲) said after the game, recalling the ups and downs the team has experienced over the past few days. Unlike in
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