Group B coaches draw mutual respect
Thursday, July 10, 2008
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There was mutual consent from Maren Meinert and Calle Barrling after Germany and Sweden shared the spoils in Group B, each agreeing it was a "fair result".
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Maren Meinert, Germany coach
Our performance was as good as against England, just the result didn't match our expectations. We played better in the first half, but I think Sweden deserved the draw, as they even missed a good chance to score a winner in the second half. We made a silly mistake leading up to Sweden's equaliser and after the goal we were a bit irritated. But I don't want to blame my players, we are in the middle of a development process.
What we've learnt is that we have to focus on our own game. We invested a lot and also the heat might have slightly affected us. It's their style of play to use long balls and their strikers are just waiting. It's difficult to defend against them. All my players are working hard in training; Jessica Wich looked good in training, that's why I brought her in. Now we have to do some video analysis on Scotland. They played well against Sweden in the second half and were perhaps the better team. It will be again a tough game for us and it won't be easy to beat them.
Calle Barrling, Sweden coach
It was a fair result. Germany started very well, but we were the better side in the second half. It was difficult to get used to the speed of their game so we changed some positions. After 20 minutes we played better tactically and supported each other better. We got closer to them, which is very important playing Germany as they move quickly. After that we almost didn't allow them to create any more chances. The goal we scored was the result of good defending. It's a good draw, as it developed the players in the best way. There are no better teams here except maybe France and England.
Against England it will be sort of a quarter-final. We have to prepare our players physically first, mentally second and tactically third, that's what we are doing these days. We have to support ourselves, as England have a technically gifted and pacy side. We beat them in Spain in March, but it was a tight game. I think they have improved a lot and they're a really good team. We won't go for a draw as this never works for 90 minutes. We want to win as we are an attacking side. We have the character that we can win games.