{"id":1094342,"date":"2019-06-17T19:06:49","date_gmt":"2019-06-17T18:06:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/?p=1094342"},"modified":"2019-06-17T19:16:22","modified_gmt":"2019-06-17T18:16:22","slug":"womens-world-cup-china-spain-south-africa-germany","status":"publish","type":"features","link":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/womens-world-cup-china-spain-south-africa-germany\/","title":{"rendered":"The winners & losers from final Group B matches as Spain join Germany in WWC knockout stages"},"content":{"rendered":"

As the curtains came down on the final Group B matches, Germany thrashed South Africa 4-0, while Spain drew 0-0 with China.<\/strong><\/p>\n

For the match\u00a0on the southern coast of France,\u00a0Die Nationalelf made light work of South Africa, securing a 4-0 win courtesy of goals from Melanie Leupolz, Sara Dabritz, captain Alexandra Popp and Lina Magull\u00a0to finish first in the group.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/audioboom.com\/posts\/7284737-it-s-time-to-talk-about-a-potential-bernard-or-silva<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, in proceedings\u00a0north of the border, Spain and China played out a goalless stalemate, which was enough to send the European nation through to the knockout stages.<\/p>\n

And so, it was a frantic finish to Group B in the Women’s World Cup, but who were the winners and losers?<\/p>\n

Winner: Melanie Leupolz<\/strong><\/h2>\n

After 1048 days without an international goal, Bayern Munich’s Leupolz has ended her barren run after she broke the deadlock in the match against Banyana Banyana. With only 14 minutes on the clock, a whipped corner from Verena Schweers found its way to Leupolz, who managed to elude the South African defence before heading home from six yards out.<\/p>\n

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It was wretched defending from Desiree Ellis’ side, but the Bavarian midfielder certainly won’t mind one bit as she has now found the back of the net for the first time since the 2016 Olympic games.<\/p>\n

With Leupolz netting the opening goal, it meant that, at the time, 11 of Germany\u2019s last 12 goals scored across all competitions had been bagged by a different player, showing the versatility and goalscoring prowess of Martina Voss-Tecklenburg’s squad.<\/p>\n

Loser: Desiree Ellis<\/strong><\/h2>\n

South Africa have bowed out of the Women’s World Cup having lost all three of their Group B matches, and in truth, they never really looked like they possessed the requisite ability to course a storm in France.<\/p>\n

Defeat at Montpellier’s Stade de la Mosson this afternoon has not only eliminated the African nation from the prestigious tournament, but that was also their 13th consecutive match without recording a win.<\/p>\n

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In that time Banyana Banyana have lost on nine seperate occasions, while drawing just four times, and that unwanted statistic never looked like being rectified against Germany, as the Europeans ran riot.<\/p>\n

Ellis’ side showed a lot of heart and grit in the previous match against China, and were perhaps a tab unfortunate not to sneak a point, but there was a clear gulf in class here, with Die Nationalelf a level above.<\/p>\n

Winner: Germany<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Germany have topped their group, and they done it in some style, cruising to qualification to the knockout rounds at a canter, while doing so without conceding a single goal.<\/p>\n

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Victory for the two-time world champions has preserved their record of never losing a final WWC group match (seven wins, one draw), while Germany have also now won their previous four matches against African nations in the World Cup, scoring 19 goals in that time against South Africa, Nigeria – twice – and Ivory Coast – while also keeping a clean sheet in all those matches dating back to 1991.<\/p>\n

What is even more impressive for Germany is that they have only suffered defeat once in their last 24 group stage matches at the premier knockout tournament, winning 19 and drawing four times.<\/p>\n

Loser:\u00a0Wang Shuang<\/strong><\/h2>\n

All eyes for China have been on the diminutive midfielder who has drawn parrallels with a certain Lionel Messi, Wang Shuang, but the Paris Saint-Germain ace has so far failed to really light up this Women’s World Cup.<\/p>\n

Being the only player in the Steel Roses ranks to ply her trade outside of China, expectations were high going into the tournament for the 24-year-old, who is so often the fulcrum of the nation’s play.<\/p>\n

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Manager Jia Xiuquan left her out of the starting XI for the opening match against Germany – a 1-0 defeat thanks to Giulia Gwinn – while against South Africa, while she certainly showed glimmers of her brilliance, the standard was below her usual quality.<\/p>\n

And again, she was notably off-pace this afternoon, coming off in only the 56th minute as China struggled to assert themselves – they failed to register a single shot on goal upon her departure. She is without question a formidable force on the turf, but is yet to showcase her world class ability in France.<\/p>\n

Winner: Jorge Vilda<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The 37-year-old Madrid-born coach has masterminded a second-place finish for La Roja, and will see his nation through to the round of 16, joining Germany in the knockout stages.<\/p>\n