World Cup
June 30, 2011
Germany coach Silvia Neid has warned her team to be watchful ahead of Thursday night's match against Nigeria.
"They [Nigeria] have developed, but they are under pressure to win after their loss in the first game. That doesn't make our job any easier," she said on the eve of the team's second game at the World Cup in Frankfurt.
Neid added that her team was looking to improve on their performance in Sunday's opening game of the tournament against Canada in Berlin.
If Germany wins against Nigeria and France defeats Canada in the other group A match, Germany could grab a spot in the quarterfinals.
The Germans, who have won their last six encounters against Nigeria, go into the match against the African champions as favorites. Most recently, Germany thrashed Nigeria 8-0 in a friendly, in a November match in Leverkusen.
Neid is likely to stick to the same starting line-up for Thursday's game. Up front it will be a combination of youth and experience, with Celia Okoyino da Mbabi and Birgit Prinz working in tandem. Okoyino da Mbabi is in good form after scoring the second goal in her team's 2-1 win over Canada on Sunday.
100th game
Goalkeeper Nadine Angerer will be celebrating her 100th game for Germany against Nigeria. The 32-year-old joked before the match that she'd "calculated it perfectly" so that she could play the game in her hometown of Frankfurt.
Angerer, who first made her debut for Germany 15 years ago, played down the achievement.
"The milestone is obviously nice, but it doesn't mean that much to me," she said. She's the 16th German female footballer to reach the 100 mark - the current recordholder is Prinz, who has played 213 times for the DFB side.
Hero under fire
Prinz has been in the spotlight in the German domestic media, due to her recent goal drought. She scored her last goal at November's match against Nigeria.
The 33-year-old is relaxed about her recent form. "These days my role isn't about scoring all the time. Making a good pass, stopping the opposition, keeping the opposition defense busy and helping my teammates - that is just as important," she told German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung.
Prinz, who has scored 128 goals for the national team, has announced that she will be retiring from the German side after the World Cup.
Follow @dw_sports on Twitter for Germany's match against Nigeria: June 30, 18:30 UTC
Author: Andre Leslie (dpa, SID)
Editor: Martin Kuebler