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Confident Neid stays upbeat

Despite No1 Silke Rottenberg suffering a serious injury and recording no wins in three games, Germany coach Silvia Neid took "a lot of positives" from the trip to China.

Despite goalkeeper Silke Rottenberg suffering a serious injury and her team failing to win a game, Germany coach Silvia Neid will take "a lot of positives" from the Four Nations Tournament in China.

'Pleased'
The world and European champions travelled east with a squad bereft of a number of star names, yet still returned unbeaten following goalless draws against the United States, China and England. Speaking after yesterday's stalemate against fellow European FIFA Women's World Cup finalists England, Neid said: "I was pleased again with our defensive play but not our attacking game. There were not enough combinations and too many passes went astray. The team looked a little tired after their recent matches but I'm still pleased.

Intensive training
"The results weren't important to us - what was important was getting impressions of new players and in that respect there are a lot of positives. We used our time intensively, training twice a day and playing three matches against strong opponents. You could see a number of players really trying their best to secure a place in the World Cup and given our circumstances - the winter break, a long flight and a lack of time together - I wasn't expecting us to dominate any of our games."

Neid hope
Germany took to the field in Guangzhou on Tuesday without their No1 goalkeeper after Rottenberg, 35, suffered a serious knee injury in training. "The injury was a shock for all of us," Neid said. "Although it sounds strange, if you are to suffer such an injury it's better now than later in the year. She should be out for around six months and I wish her all the best. She's a world-class goalkeeper and a great person, which makes her invaluable to the team."