Prinz crowns Germany victory

Birgit Prinz was on target with two second-half goals as Germany eased to victory against Scotland in Bayreuth to maintain their strong start to the FIFA Women's World Cup qualifying campaign.

Rare Grings goal
UEFA WOMEN'S EURO 2005™ winners Germany swept aside Group 4 leaders Russia 5-1 in their first outing of the campaign, but a repeat looked unlikely as they squandered a host of first-half chances. The dominant home side held a tentative one-goal lead at the interval with a strike from Inka Grings midway through the first half. Kerstin Stegemann then made it 2-0 just before the hour mark with only her fourth goal in 136 international outings, before Prinz added two more before full time.

Defensive ploy
Scotland lined up with a defensive 4-5-1 formation, and the ploy looked to be paying dividends as they kept the world and European champions at bay for the opening period, despite dominating possession. That all changed on 24 minutes, however, when Sandra Minnert's vicious shot ricocheted off the crossbar into the path of Kerstin Garefrekes. Her attempt was blocked but Grings was on hand to give the home side the lead.

Missed opportunities
The breakthrough sparked a spell of earnest Germany pressure but they failed to make the most of a host of opportunities before half-time, Prinz coming closest with a shot that cannoned back off the upright. The prolific striker made amends on 58 minutes though, her adroit chip falling neatly for Stegemann who calmly slotted the ball past Gemma Fay.

Prinz headers
Three minutes later the right-back repaid the favour by picking out Prinz who scored with a terrific header to give Silvia Neid's side a 3-0 lead, and the 1. FFC Frankfurt forward completed the win with another header with eleven minutes remaining. Victory leaves Germany second in Group 4, three points behind Russia but with two games in hand, while the Scots are fourth after failing to score for the third successive game.