German women claim European soccer crown Germany's woman's soccer team has cemented its reputation as the

"unbeatable squad" by winning the European Championships for the fifth time in a row. Germany's Birgit Prinz celebrates after scoring the opening goal Germany dealt England a resounding 6-2 defeat in the final of the Women's European Championships in Helsinki. Thursday's victory not only gave Germany their seventh European title in total, it also meant the Germans kept their slate clean against England after booking the 19th consecutive win against the "Three Lions" squad. It also means the German women are now unbeaten at European Championships since 1993, winning 26 matches in a row. "This is simply cool. It was a tough match but it was fun. We managed to score in the decisive moments," said Germany's star striker Birgit Prinz. England's Karen Carney (left) vies for the ball with Germany's Babett Peter The reigning world champions were more efficient than the inspired English, with Prinz securing Germany's lead in the 20th minute. Two minutes later Germany's Melanie Behringer hammered a 35-meter drive into the top

left corner. England, far from giving up, responded almost immediately in the 24th minute with a goal by Karen Carney. However, the Germans were determined to give England only a brief respite, and shortly into the second half Kim Kulig was lucky to net a ball that had bounced off the right-hand post. But again Germany's two-goal lead did little to deter England, with Smith placing a perfectly executed shot into the bottom right hand corner. However, German player Inka Grings finally dashed all English hopes after scoring twice in the 62th and 73rd minute. England's Emily Westwood walks past celebrating German players Grings was also the tournament's top scorer and is the first player to score a total of six goals at such an event. "These European Championships were very long and very hard. I am very content now and overjoyed. As expected, England were great opponents," said Germany's coach Silvia Neid. German President Horst Koehler was also among the spectators who had travelled to Finland. "This was an important title and a great preparation for the 2011 World Cup in Germany. And the most important thing is: here it's not about the money," said Koehler. nk/dpa/SID Editor: Nancy Isenson

German Girls Prove Soccer Isn't Just For Boys Germany's national women's soccer team has claimed the last two World Cup titles, which has piqued girls' interest in the sport. Now, nearly one in six members of the German Soccer Association is female.

Birgit Prinz is one of Germany's top female players "Come on, the strikers have to show themselves!" shouts coach Cosimo Martina during soccer practice. Fortuna Koeln, a traditional club in southern Cologne, is among those which have recently expanded their girls' programs. Fourteen-year-old Theresa Garsztecki, who's played for Fortuna Koeln for six years already, is one of the senior members on the team. Her friend Luzie Schwarz, who has been involved for just as long, started playing soccer almost by chance. "When my little brother joined a soccer team, I wanted to do it too," said Luzie. Role models at the top The German women won their last World Cup title in China in 2007 Luzie and Theresa aren't alone in their passion for the sport. The German Soccer Association currently has over one million female members. Interest skyrocketed last year, with sign-ups jumping five percent over 2007. The recent success of the national women's team -- they've won the last two World Cups -- certainly has something to do with it. "The girls sure have enough role models here at home," said Hans-Juergen Tritschoks, who used to coach the successful women's team 1. FCC Frankfurt. "Just take Birgit Prinz, who has been Player of the Year three times." Tritschoks also named top players like Renate Lingor and Nia Kuenzer. "Those were and

still are accessible stars, who patiently give autographs after every game." Little attention from the media Male soccer players, like Lukas Podolski, get much more media attention Still, the national players are seldom seen on TV and in the media. "I think women's soccer isn't reported on enough," said Theresa. Luzie agreed: "Male soccer players are in the media a lot more, often with a photo or an extra story, or something." So it's no surprise that the girls also look to national men's player Lukas Podolski as a role model. However, Podolski and his team members simply have a physical advantage, when it comes to sprints, goal shots and head kicks, said Tritschoks. "Thanks to professional training, the (women's) game has gotten a lot quicker and more athletic," he said. "But women just have less muscle mass and therefore less power." Keep going when it hurts Nevertheless, women bring just as much technical finesse to the game, added Tritschoks -- and they have a one-up on their male colleagues in at least one area. "Unlike the men, the women just stand right up again after they've been fouled and keep playing." For Theresa, combining her hobby with school is a challenge. She goes to practice twice a week, has to keep up with her homework, and has games on the weekends. "I also like to put on makeup and go out to parties," said Theresa. "And I can still play soccer. I think you can do both." DW.DE

Germany's young women footballers expanding game's boundaries Germany may not have come back from South Africa with the World Cup trophy, but the countrys under-20 womens team still has a chance to restore German pride at the U-20

World Cup, which began this week in Germany. Women's football is making great strides Despite still falling far behind its male parallel in terms of popularity, it's plain to see that women's football is taking big strides towards reaching a wider audience. With the launch of the under-20 women's World Cup in Germany this week, FIFA is hoping to break the all-time ticket sales record for an U-20 tournament, which was set at 190,000 two years ago in Mexico. This year's edition is a forerunner to the 2011 Women's World Cup, which will also be played in Germany. More than 170,000 tickets have already been sold for the 32 games being played over the next three weeks of the junior championship, with the German Football Association confident of selling more on match days. Ticket sales for the U-20 championships have been very promising In its first group stage match, Germany's U-20 side cruised to a comfortable 4-2 win over Costa Rica in front of 24,000 fans, and will go into post-match training eyeing a win over their next opponents, Colombia, on Friday. The tournament is a shot in the arm for the women's game, which has had a hard time getting public attention in Germany, despite the presence of a well-organized league spread over two divisions. Many people still feel it lacks the intensity of the men's game. But thanks to the success of the senior women's team, the profile of women's football is

growing. Germany are two-time defending world champions and have won the last five UEFA European Women's Championships. Young exemplar Marina Hegering, 20, captains the German U-20 team, and told Deutsche Welle she looks to the senior team for inspiration. The irony is that she, too, has become a role model for young footballers. "Yeah, it's really strange to already have little kids looking up to me," says Hegering, who netted in the victory over Costa Rica. "It's a funny feeling because I'm still quite young myself and there are older players that I also look up to but it does give me a sense of pride." Over the last 15 years, global recognition of the women's game has grown, adds Hegering, who won the Fritz Walter Medal for best young German player in 2009. Hegering, left, is an emerging talent in German women's football "Women's football has evolved, especially in the pro-league in the United States. But in terms of development and other elements of the game I think we've come just as far as in the USA," says Hegering, adding, however, that media attention to women's football in Germany is still lagging behind. "It would be great if women's football was shown on the evening sports news on television," she says. "Maybe this would make men a little more interested in women's football. Then more spectators would come to games. It would be good progress if the country's two public television stations showed even just short snippets of games." Bright future Almuth Schult, who is currently the number one shot stopper for the U-20 team, agrees that women's football in Germany still doesn't get the recognition it receives in other countries. "When you see Norway, or in the USA, women's football has a higher level in society,

and in Germany it's just started," she says. "But women's football in Germany will get more important in time. The young German team will be looking to impress on home soil "I think in Germany they do very good work with young players in women's football just as in men's teams, and so we have good players in the under-17 and under-19 teams," Schult added. Germany rounds off the tournament group stages against France on Tuesday, with all of the players looking to put in stellar performances in the hope of making the women's senior national team for next year's World Cup on home soil. Under-20 coach Maren Meinert told the FIFA news website that it was important her team performed well in front of a German audience. "The main thing for us is that this is a home World Cup, so it's a chance to lay out our credentials in front of big crowds," said the former national team hero and World Cup winner. "We have a good team and we certainly aim to stay in the tournament right to the end, although we don't sense any pressure to win the trophy." Author: Darren Mara Editor: Martin Kuebler

Germany's young female soccer stars lift World Cup at home Germany has won the U-20 Women's World Cup on home soil after beating Nigeria 2-0 in the final. For star-player Alexandra Popp there was the double glory of being recognized as both top scorer and best player.

The team lifted the trophy in front of a large home crowd The German women's Under-21 side lifted the World Cup on home soil after beating Nigeria 2-0 in the final on Sunday. Tournament top scorer Alexandra Popp netted the opening goal at Bielefeld, where the match took place, with teammate Kim Kulig sealing the win in injury time. "We deserve to be World Champions," said team coach Maren Meinert. "Everything that we dreamed about has come true." There were anxious moments for team coach Maren Meinert Indeed, the game opened in fairytale style for the Germans in front of a crowd of 24,633. Just eight minutes had been played when, after a cross Bianca Schmidt, Popp held off two Nigeria defenders to shoot past Nigeria keeper Alaba Jonathan for the first goal. The goal was Popp's tenth of the tournament. The 19-year-old from Duisburg finished as top scorer on 10 goals - hitting the net in all six of Germany's tournament wins. Fighting Falconets Nigeria's young "Falconets", the first African women's team to reach the final of any FIFA tournament, tried hard to get back into the game with Germany keeper Almuth Schult tested more than once. The game lost pace in the second half and, although both teams had their chances, Germany looked the more likely to score. The team sealed a victory in the 92nd minute,

courtesy of 19-year-old Kulig's header. Popp won plaudits for her goal prowess and consistency For Popp, there was the double honor of winning the tournament Golden Boot for scoring the most goals, as well as the best player award for her consistency. "It was the best day of my football career so far," said Popp. In the earlier third place play-off, South Korea defeated Colombia one-nil to take third place. Almost 400,000 fans attended the tournament's 32 games, with Germany set to host the next Women's World Cup in 2011. Author: Richard Connor (SID/dpa) Editor: Nigel Tandy DW.DE

Germany's women reach the European soccer final, despite shaky semi It was a hard-fought 3-1 victory against Norway in the semi-final. Germany's women owed their win to their substitutes, who scored all the German goals after Norway grabbed an early lead. Simone Laudehr and the German bench celebrate her all-important equalizer On Thursday evening, Germany's women footballers will take on

England in Helsinki in a bid to win their fifth consecutive European Championship. However, they had a tough time fending off Norway in the semi-final on Monday night. Germany went in trailing by a goal to nil at half time, after Norway scored from a corner, using a clever set-play to confuse the German defense. Coach Silvia Neid was fairly modest after the match, when asked what magic she had worked in the half- time team talk. "During the break, I just pointed out the things we needed to do better," Neid said. However, Neid's involvement in the German victory was far greater than she herself suggested. The tactical changes she made at half-time - which freed the Germans up to push forward against a defensive Norwegian side - helped transform the game. Furthermore, all three German goals came from substitutes that Neid introduced in the course of the match. Simone Laudehr equalized on 59 minutes, and two minutes later Celia Okoyino da Mbabi put Germany in front, completing the game's turnaround. Norway struggled to threaten the German goal after falling behind, and in the dying moments Fatmire Bajramaj grabbed another for Germany, putting the result beyond any doubt. However, the win was nowhere near as convincing as the comfortable 4-0 victory against Norway that the German women chalked up in the groups stages. "Sometimes as a team you play poorly for part of a match," goal-scorer Simone Laudehr said stoically after the game. "But we really wanted to reach the final, and tonight, we fought for it." As the women's game continues to struggle for international recognition, just 2,765 spectators attended the high-profile match in Helsinki. Germany square off against England - who scraped into the final with a 2-1 win against the Netherlands after extra-time - in the final on Thursday evening. The Germans are hot favorites for that encounter, and it's hardly a surprise: if they win it will be their fifth consecutive European Championship, and their seventh in total. msh/dpa/SID Editor: Nancy Isenson

German women advance to semifinals at European championship The women's national soccer team has taken another step towards a successful European title defense by beating Italy 2-1. The German women are to face either Sweden or

Norway in the semifinals. Germany came out on top against the six-time champions Although some observers thought Italy was the better team in Friday's match played in the Finnish city of Lahti, Germany came out on top. Grings with two goals Striker Inka Grings, who plays her club soccer for the UEFA Cup champions, FCR Duisburg, scored Germany's first goal, after taking a pass from Melanie Behringer and making a quick turn to open up space for a shot from inside the penalty area. Despite a knee injury that she suffered against Iceland, Grings, together with fellow striker Birgit Prinz, was solid throughout Friday's match After Germany took the 1-0 lead, the six-time European champion Italy controlled the ball for most of the first half, but was unable to get through the German defense. Grings increased Germany's lead to 2-0 shortly after the break, with a tap-in following a cross by Simone Laudehr. Germany looked set to cruise through the second half, until Patrizia Panico put Italy on the scoresheet in the 63rd minute. Inka Grings celebrates after her first goal on Friday Germany's goalkeeper, Nadine Angerer, was solid between the sticks in injury time, making a number of saves to preserve the victory for the German women, their 24th straight in European Championship play.

The semifinal match against either Norway or Sweden is scheduled for Monday evening in the Finnish capital, Helsinki. glb/AP/dpa Editor: Chuck Penfold DW.DE