Published 7/5/2011 5:39:18 PM by Roberto Garcia from soccermogul

The hosts Germany ran out 4-2 winners in a wildly entertaining Group A match with rivals France.  The win gives Germany the top spot in the group while France will still advance as runners-up.

Despite some drama in the Germany camp with veteran star Birgit Prinz benched, Germany looked solid in the victory.  Inka Grings netted twice in the match.  France trailed 2-0 at the half, but looked like they were in for a fightback when Marie-Laure Delie headed home in the 56th.  The French continued with the pressure until Germany flipped the script in the 67th minute.

A red card to the French keeper for tripping Bajramaj in the box put France in a dire situation.  When Grings hit the spotkick it was too tough for a comeback.  Both sides would score again with the final 4-2 to Germany.

England put together their best effort of the World Cup as they defeated Japan 2-0.  England had everything to play for. A big loss could have eliminated it from the tournament. Instead, the win over Japan allowed it to avoid Germany in the quarterfinals.  An early goal from Ellen White calmed English nerves and they controlled the game from there.  

Japan started with the same lineup that set it up as a top seed, while England made changes in four places to rev up its efforts. Yet Japan found it tough to get its rhythm going.

After her first goal, White almost scored one of equal brilliance in the 38th when she had to go back for a cross, yet swung in an overhead volley that Kaihori barely tipped onto the crossbar and over the net.
Japan sought a way back into the game in the second half and Yuki Nagasato slid in behind defenders on a 49th-minute free kick, but her deflection went just wide.

Japan will face host Germany in a quarterfinal.

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