Malinowski goal rush goes on

The Germany squad that arrived for this UEFA European Women's Under-19 Championship is much-changed from the one which suffered an early exit last year; fittingly, perhaps, it was one of the newcomers, Kyra Malinowski, who got their campaign off and running against Italy.

The striker is one of nine players in Maren Meinert's party who helped Germany retain the UEFA European Women's Under-17 Championship in Switzerland last June: an extra special triumph for the SG Essen-Schönebeck player as she scored five goals in the final against Spain.

A month later, however, the U19s surprisingly failed to advance beyond the group stage in Belarus – losing out to Switzerland on head-to-head record – and have arrived in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia minus the influential duo of Alexandra Popp and Dzsenifer Marozsán, rested with the forthcoming FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup in mind.

Nonetheless, Malinowski is optimistic about Germany's prospects here, stressing the understanding and unity which the former U17 players have brought to proceedings. "The squad knows each other very well, making a lot of things easier during the tournament," she told UEFA.com. "We know what we have to do and that's a good feeling."

She experienced another of those against the Azzurrine in the teams' Group A opener, opening the scoring in a 4-1 victory. "I was happy I scored the first goal as the pressure on the team subsided," she said of her header. "It was a help and it made it easier to play thereafter."

Malinowski describes the U17 showpiece as "one of the nicest moments of my career so far", but has made a seamless transition to U19 football, registering three times as Germany eased through the second qualifying round. "There is a difference between the two age groups, of course," she continued. "It's physical and the game is much faster at U19 level. At the beginning it took some time to be a part of it but it was not too difficult to adjust."

Next up for Malinowski and Co are Scotland on Thursday, when, like against Italy, she will be on the hunt for an early goal. "They will start with very defensive tactics but we hope to score quickly and if we do the match will be easier."

After the competition, Malinowski will revert her focus to ensuring Essen-Schönebeck enjoy a less troublesome season than 2009/10. Having made her Frauen-Bundesliga debut as a 16-year-old in September, Malinowski was part of a squad which struggled throughout, eventually finishing three points clear of the relegation zone.

"At the beginning of the season we didn't think we'd be struggling at the bottom of the table but nobody thought about it because we are a good team," she said. "Nevertheless, for me it was a good to get experience of playing in the top women's league."