Germany emerge from Euro 2022 group as England's top rival for trophy

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There was little significance coming into the game between Germany and Finland on Saturday, apart from the fact that both sides had the chance to show off. Group B winners Germany and Finland were already out of the picture, with second place going to Spain.

Germany, who are now tipped by many as favorites after their early Euro 2022 performances, will want to show their rivals that they can whip in goal after goal as well. Their eyes may have already been turned towards the World Cup, where they are just one point behind Ireland for a spot in the playoffs.

Germany had 18 shots in the first half and were in control of the game. They failed to convert any of their chances until late in the first half, when Sophia Kleinherne opened the scoring.

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They had some nice runs up into the box, but once they got to the final third, they looked lost as to what to do with the ball.

Many people have doubts about Germany going into the tournament. Their record in the qualification stage was perfect, but they lost to Serbia and there was some uncertainty over where German football would go. This Germany team has a legacy of 22 years of European dominance, so it was naive to think they wouldn't do well.

It was still controlled and played exactly how they wanted, even though their performance against Finland wasn't as good as England's. Germany lead the competition in them, and they were the more physical side of the team. Germany's defence was so strong that only one shot on goal was taken by the Finns.

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When looking at where other teams have fallen in the group stage, it's clear that Germany have performed better than expected, which makes them heavy favorites to go all the way and meet England in the final.

Kleinherne said that they have earned the position of favourite.

England's talent is weighted towards the front while Germany's talent is weighted towards the back. Germany did not concede a goal in the group stages. The only players to score in each of the team's group stage matches were captain Popp and Beth Mead.

Popp said after the game that it was difficult. The team had slacked off at times, but we were clearly the better team.

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Saturday, July 16th.

• Denmark vs. Spain (3 p.m. ET)

• Finland vs. Germany (3 p.m. ET)

On Sunday, July 17th.

• Sweden vs. Portugal (12 p.m. ET)

• Switzerland vs. Netherlands (12 p.m. ET)

The question over this Germany side is if they can keep scoring the same amount of goals as England have done. Nicole Anyomi and Kleinherne were the first senior international goals for them. England's attack is made up of some strong veteran strikers such as Fran Kirby, Ellen White, and even the likes of Alessia Russo who has four goals in four games.

The Germans are up for the challenge. I have been waiting for the season to start. Anyomi said after the game that he had finally gotten his chance.

While other pre-tournament favorites like France, the Netherlands, and Portugal have shown vulnerability in the group stage, Germany have emerged as unstoppable.

The coach disagreed with the idea that the win was not what the Germans deserved.

The teams can advance to the knockout stage.

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Is it a hard-fought battle? "I don't think it's that way anymore." We have nine points and have scored 9 goals and made 3 more. We created playing time for everyone.

She said there was more to come out of this squad. She said that they were in the game from the beginning.

We put a lot of power into it. We didn't reward ourselves for the last pass not being perfect. We have a difficult quarterfinals ahead of us, but we are happy that we broke the group so confident. We are going to play three more games here.

The Germany squad can achieve a lot. Slow and steady often win the race and, without the pressure of being hosts, this could be a chance for them to prove that German football is still up there with the best.