Germany Scrape Past China in 2019 Women's World Cup Opener

Germany kicked off their 2019 Women's World Cup with a 1-0 win over China on Saturday.

China gave the European giants all they could handle for 66 minutes, but Giulia Gwinn finally found the breakthrough with a great strike from just outside the box. Die Nationalelf were far from their best, as China's aggressive play and speed on the counter had them off-balance throughout the contest.

The two-time world champions and current Olympic champions are among the favourites for the title this year.

Germany came out applying heavy pressure early on, but apart from a shaky intervention by goalkeeper Peng Shimeng, China didn't give away any real chances initially.

Dzsenifer Marozsan looked threatening every time she touched the ball, and it was no surprise the first booking of the match came after a rash foul on her, courtesy of Wang Shanhan.

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Yang Li missed an excellent opportunity to hand the Asian side the lead, and that seemed to shake the Germans into action, as Carolin Simon hit the cross bar just minutes later.

Peng grew more confident as the half wore on, taking several threatening Marozsan crosses, but set pieces remained an area of concerns for the Chinese, with a few dangerous moments in front of goal.

Football commentator Derek Rae noted China were not making things easy on the Germans:

There was some late drama in the half, as Li missed another great chance, finding the post and then hitting German goalkeeper Almuth Schult. The European side were frustrated by the ultra-aggressive tactics from their opponents throughout the half, as several players required treatment.

They desperately needed the half-time break:

The pattern of the contest didn't change much in the second half, as China continued to play the counter and Germany grew more frantic. Peng held her own inside the box, although she got a little lucky when Kathrin Hendrich just failed to make contact with a dangerous cross.

Alexandra Popp was involved in a skirmish and tempers appeared close to boiling over, but just as they did, Gwinn finally found the breakthrough.

The 19-year-old unleashed an excellent strike from 20 yards out:

That goal was exactly what Germany needed, as the team finally settled down. It also meant space started to open up, with China no longer able to sit back and play for counter attacks.

The Asian side did muster a few late chances, with one free-kick in particular giving Die Nationalelf some trouble, but an equaliser never seemed likely.

What's Next?

Germany will be back in action on Wednesday when they take on Spain, while China will face South Africa on Thursday.