Prinz brings up 100 on record day
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
Article summary
Germany 5-1 England Birgit Prinz enjoyed a birthday to remember as she scored her 100th international goal on the occasion of her 154th cap for Germany.
Article body
Germany 5-1 England
Birgit Prinz marked her 29th birthday in fine style, scoring the goal she needed to bring up 100 international goals as well as equalling Bettina Wiegmann's record of 154 Germany caps
Scott opener
The 11,160 home fans at the Waldstadion must have thought they were in for an evening to forget when the visitors took the lead through Alex Scott on 26 minutes, but the home side responded in style thanks to first-half goals by Kerstin Stegemann (29) and Sandra Smisek (37) before dominating the second half.
Prinz record
Yet the evening belonged to Prinz. Midway through the second period she brought up a century of goals for Germany to make it 3-1. Martina Müller extended the lead (75) and with four minutes to go Célia Okoyino da Mbabi rounded the result off.
'Spirited performance'
Both teams have qualified for next September's FIFA Women's World Cup and Germany coach Silvia Neid was delighted with this, the first step in her side's preparation for the trip to China. "We showed a lot of spirit and tired out the opposition," she said. "In the first half we missed too many chances but it was a good overall performance."
