Thanks for your ratings A.W looks like Fara and the defence didnt look so good today, cant say I'm suprised though

Has anyone recorded this match that could do me a copy. Strange to want to watch England lose I know but I'd still like to see how we played.
Hope the next friendly is in this country, September 2007 is too long to wait to see them again and I don't think my bank balance could cope with another oversea trip seeing as I need to save for China.

I think we played great at the beginning, esp as we scored 1st! and we didn't look like we were gonna be thrashed. But our stamina is poor compared to the bigger teams as shown against France, the players admitting themselves that they were exhausted at the end and only just managed to hold the draw. So I can imagine playing against a much stronger side must have taken it out of them in the early stages, whereas the germans just kept on going! Made it a good game to watch at the beginning though, and the german goals were quality - all seemed to end up in bottom corner!

And I knew Kelly Smith wouldn't miss out on that game - she was determined to be better than Prinz

Also I reckon Asante didn't look that bad at the back, and agree Alex Scott looked our best player alongside Smith.

AND did anyone see the ref giv stoney a yellow card and then laugh with Prinz about it straight after? - the cheek

Was a german ref too, wasn't it?

From theFA site:

Germany humble Lions

Germany 5-1 England

Scott 26
Stegemann 28, Smisek 36, Prinz 66, Muller 75, de Mbabi 86

England received a short sharp shock after the joy of qualifying for the World Cup as they found themselves on the end of a heavy defeat to the reigning World and European Champions Germany.

Although the scoreline was a little unfair on the Three Lions, it goes to show just how difficult it will be in China when they will be taking on the best teams in the world.

Germany are deserved World Champions and few would contest their status in the game, and tonight they showed all their class with Birgit Prinz in particularly buoyant form up front.

England's unbeaten run of eleven games, stretching back to June 2005, has come to an end but if they learn from their opponents tonight and come back stronger over the next few months then it can only help them when arrive in China next September.

Rachel Yankey had the first effort on goal inside 60 seconds, in space on the left flank and found by Fara Williams, the Arsenal winger's effort sailed narrowly over the bar.

Prinz then went close moments later when Sandra Smisek crossed dangerously from the right hand side, only for Rachel Brown to deny the birthday girl with a firm punch.

Alex Scott gave the Three Lions the lead after 26 minutes with a superbly guided finish to lob the ball over the onrushing Ulrike Schmetz and into the empty net. From Jody Handley's through ball, the German keeper came out of her goal very early and the full back showed great composure to lift the ball from 30 yards into the goal.

The true mark of World and European Champions is to hit back quickly and Silvia Neid's side were in no mood to be behind for long.

From a free kick on the edge of the area which Prinz both won and took, the ball rebounded high off the head of Fara Williams and looped out to Kerstin Stegemann. The right back hit a true volley into the bottom corner and levelled the scores within two minutes of the Scott's opener.

Germany continued to press forward with power and pace and took the lead eight minutes later through Smisek who reacted quickest in a goalmouth scramble. Prinz was at the heart of the attack once again as she pulled the ball back from the left hand touchline and Rachel Brown bravely dived at the feet of Kerstin Garefrekes to prevent a simple tap in.

Unfortunately for Brown the ball rebounded straight to the feet of Smisek who guided the ball into the net despite the efforts of captain Mary Philip to deny the goal. ( Nicely put )

While England had played some fine football in periods during the first period, few could deny the home side their lead at the break after their sustained attacking play.

The second period saw England force themselves into the contest through some assured build up and considered through balls, and Rachel Yankey in particular had three chances to level the scores.

It was therefore unfortunate that they conceded a further goal shortly after the hour mark to give the Germany skipper her wish of her 100th goal for her country on the occasion of her 29th birthday.

It was a typically clinical finish from the record-breaking striker, who drilled the ball past substitute keeper Siobhan Chamberlain and in off the far post with her left foot.

Germany added two late goals through Martina Muller's spectacular overhead kick and da Mbabi's low drive, although the scoreline was not a fair reflection of the play in the match - what it demonstrated however was the level that England will need to strive for in order to make an impact at next September's World Cup.

Teams:

Germany: 1 Ulrike Schmetz, 2 Kerstin Stegemann (Babett Peter 73), 5 Annike Krahn, 6 Britta Carlson (Celia Okiyino da Mbabi 45), 7 Isabell Bachor (Petr Wimbersky 45), 8 Sandra Smisek, 9 Birgit Prinz (Conny Pohlers 84), 10 Renate Lingor (Martina Muller 68), 13 Sandra Minnert (Bianca Rech 84), 17 Ariane Hingst, 18 Kerstin Garefrekes

Subs: 12 Ursula, 3 Bianca Rech, 4 Babett Peter, 11 Martina Muller, 14 Celia Okiyino da Mbabi, 15 Petra Wimbersky, 16 Conny Pohlers

England: 1 Rachel Brown (Siobhan Chamberlain 56), 2 Alex Scott, 3 Casey Stoney, 4 Fara Williams (Eniola Aluko 77), 5 Anita Asante, 6 Mary Philip (c), 7 Karen Carney (Lindsay Johnson 45), 8 Vicky Exley, 9 Jody Handley, 10 Kelly Smith (Jill Scott 61), 11 Rachel Yankey (Sue Smith 68)

Subs: 13 Siobhan Chamberlain, 12 Eniola Aluko, 14 Amanda Barr, 15 Laura Bassett, 16 Stephanie Houghton, 17 Lindsay Johnson, 18 Lianne Sanderson, 19 Jill Scott, 20 Sue Smith

Attendance: 11,161

------------------------------------------------




Congrats Birgit!



Kelly's birthday is soon too! I guess all the great footballers were born in October
Did I mention I was born in October as well?

Someone thinks it's Hope's fault >click here<.
What do you guys think?

Reply here, please.

They have no idea what their talking about , Hope is brillant manager and has done so much for the game , Brent has also done so much for the women's game. He lost his first game in charge but he was without key player's and was playing the world champions.

What do you guys think of that?
Casey was booked cos she was trying to explain what the German did to her.
You think she'd be booked if the ref wasn't German as well?
And what was that cheeky smile by Prinz afterwards?

Check video here.

And if that link works, I'll upload Alex's goal and Kelly+Prinz wrestling as well

Thank you Agent W. for your help and your genius!

Yes it works, it's better on youtube coz other vids haven't worked for me in the past
Casey was right no. 11 went in with a high boot That laugh Prinz and the ref had is harsh

OK, youtube from now on Uploading Alex's supershot

and some people wonder why we hate Prinz, that ref's wrong giggling away with her, bet she was peeved at something Stoney said so thought she'd be big and hard and give her a yellow, cant say Stoney looks bothered

I think, at the end Casey says something like "Open your eyes"
and that's why she was booked. Pff!
Still, can't understand that Birthday Girl smile afterwards



And here comes Alex Scotttttttttttt !!!

Great vids Agent Smith woo! Nice goal by Alex , keeper was a bit nutty there!

What the hell was the keeper doing?! Crazy Great for Alex though

The keeper was doing an Emma Going to the halfway line hahahaha!

And this is why we love Kelly Smith
She'll tackle her (3 times her size) opponent hard and then apologise for it
Of course Prinz ignored her Typical.
Anyway, here's the video. Enjoy

Love the vids, nice to see that Kelly face again aaawww! Even if Kelly had kissed her better, Prinz would still have had the little 2 yr old huffa puff!

LMAO @ huffa puff


And here's Mary She should have saved it... If she only was one inch closer...

Prinz moaning! Christ you'd think she'd get over it, but no - I'm actually biggin' up Kelly this time, funny! nice vids mate

aww poor Mary - if only she was as tall as Faye with long legs

Deutschland 5 - 1 England

Oh dear! This makes up for the brilliant, if nerve wracking, time we had in France watching England qualify for the world cup a month ago. You really appreciate the highs in football when you get some lows.

First scare of the day was trying to find our tickets. After finding out that the game was sold out about three weeks ago, we had to ask the FA if they could help us. The FA’s publicity manager kindly got the stadium to release some tickets which were to be picked up from the ticket office on the day of the game. When we got to the stadium at two o’clock, they went through all the envelopes and didn’t find ours!!! Turned out that they were playing a little joke with us (not funny after travelling 700 miles to see a match!!) and we eventually got hold of the tickets.

The stadium was quite pleasant and surrounded by a forest (as the town of Aalen seems to be). There was loads of beer and sausages being consumed by the Germans (I think some of them had come to eat and get drunk rather than watch a game). Best laugh of the day was when a group of German lads from Frankfurt (who must have been drinking since lunchtime) insisted that we teach them the words to the English national anthem. It was notable how many serious adult supporters Germany ladies had as opposed to the massed ranks of school children that are shipped into the England home games. The only problem we had was a crap view - the small standing terrace behind the goal that would have been on the right on the TV coverage. This resembled a 1980’s English ground with high fences obstructing the view.

Onto the game which I won’t dwell on too much as it’s been covered here lots already. England seemed to start fairly tentatively, passing the ball around the defence. As soon as the Germans got hold of the ball they swept forward with awesome speed and strength. Birgit Prinz played the striker’s role perfectly; she held the ball in the middle and could pass to the two wingers or take on the defence herself. It was quite amusing though when Kelly was determined to stop her crossing the ball and Birgit dived for a foul right in front of where we were standing. The ref wasn’t fooled by it though. Shame I don’t know the German for a ‘get up you diving b***td’ chant.

The England goal was a surreal experience - the ball went forward (a brilliant pass from Jody Handley to Alex Scott) and we saw Scotty hit the ball past the keeper. The ball was heading for the net but, from where we were standing, it looked like the defender had got it before it crossed the line. As the stadium was totally silent and our girls didn’t seem to celebrate much, we only realised it was actually a goal when they re-spotted the ball for a centre kick off! We felt cheated as we hadn’t celebrated The stadium was in complete denial as well - it took a full two minutes to announce the scorer and change the score to 0-1 on the scoreboard.

Brent Hills was correct in his observation that the two free kicks that led to the German goals were given incorrectly. Can’t argue about the finishing though - the first one was put right into the corner, giving Rachel Brown no chance. Mary Philip will probably be disappointed by her attempted goal line clearance for the second.

As for the second half, we weakened our side by taking off key players, particularly Kelly Smith, and paid the price. Agree with the observation that we shot ourselves in the foot by giving the ball away too much. Big gripe of the night was not giving Lianne Sanderson a run out. She might develop into the sort of strong powerful striker we need in order to challenge teams like Germany.

Overall, disappointing but to be expected. The Germans were in a completely different league to us. The only (slightly) weak spot in their team seemed to be the defence. When we pressured in the first half, they looked a little nervous at times.

As for the world cup, we need to hope that someone can knock the Germans out for us or alternatively that some dodgy Chinese food lays up Fraulein Prinz for a few games

StevieB
xxx

What a save by Lindsay Johnson here !!!

Jody Handley for England!

And Fara Williams on my last vid today

You don't want me to post the German goals, or do you?

Nice clearance by Handley

and Fara ave it!

Just by Handley? I thought Johnson's was pretty stunning too




We like Fara

oh yea Johnson's was nice too, thought i said that, but remembered i did but it was in a PM

yea we like Fara, I'd argue she got the ball, even though she wasnt close

From theFA site:

Scott stays upbeat

Alex Scott, England's goalscorer against Germany, remains upbeat about the Three Lions' defeat in Aalen, feeling that for the majority of the match there was little between the two teams.

Although Silvia Nied's World Champions were victorious by a 5-1 margin, Alex reflected that the scoreline was not a fair reflection of the game.

"I think we did well in the first half, we played our football and we caused them some problems and generally weren't afraid to play," Alex told TheFA.com.

"They are a very good team but we showed for an hour we could match them. Obviously it was disappointing to lose 5-1, but that doesn't tell the whole story.

"We had a number of chances in the first half and at the start of the second, but things went against us.

"To concede three goals from set-pieces is obviously something we have to work on, but overall I think everyone will take something from this and improve."

Despite the result Alex says that morale in the squad is still as high as it was in the wake of qualifying for the World Cup last month.

Alex said: "It's been a really tough campaign this season, we've pushed ourselves and made it to the World Cup, so we have a lot to be proud of.

"There aren't many teams on the same level as Germany, but we kept trying to play our football and show what we could do.

"We had a couple of chances at the start of the second half and if we had taken one of them it would have been a different game."

Alex was also pleased with her own personal performance, saying: "It was another step for me playing at that level, I'm improving all the time and playing in different positions is good for your understanding of the game.

"It's also always nice to score for England."

One thing that Alex will be working on for the next game is her celebration.

"I think I was little surprised when I scored so I didn't really know what to do!

"I don't score that often so I guess that's my excuse - some players get used to celebrating goals and it's easier for them."

----------------------------------------

How cute

That's right Alex! Stay positive!