Teenage midfielder Giulia Gwinn scored the only goal yesterday as Germany opened their World Cup campaign with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over China in Group B. On a day for German youth, Gwinn, who is just 19, scored, and Lena Oberdorf came on at half time to become her country’s youngest World Cup player at 17 years and 171 days.
The Germans complained after the game that the Chinese had aimed for their ankles. “They were often late in the tackles and kept catching our feet,” said German captain Alexandra Popp. “We had to really grit our teeth.”
Coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg said she had not been sure at one stage if star Dzsenifer Marozsan would finish the match. “A lot of our players were caught on the ankle today, and it doesn’t look good for some of them. What Dzseni Marozsan suffered today was brutal. Her ankle doesn’t look great. We were a little surprised by the assertive approach of the Chinese, but it’s a competitive game, not a friendly, “ she said.
The Germans took the lead after 66 minutes. The Chinese cleared a corner to the top of the penalty area where Freiburg’s Gwinn had time to take a touch before smacking a shot that curled between the on-rushing Yang Li’s legs and into the corner of goalkeeper Peng Shimeng’s net.
“I am very happy to have scored a goal at the World Cup,” said Gwinn, who also struck the opening goal when Germany beat China in the group stage of the under-20 World Cup down the road in Saint-Malo last August. “The most important thing is that we have started with three points.”
On a sunny but breezy early summer’s day perfect for football, in front of a noisy crowd of 15,283 in Rennes, Germany, twice winners of this competition, dominated possession and territory.
“There was a lot of pressure on our defence, but in our attack we created opportunities,” said Jia Xiuquan, China’s coach. “Compared to Germany we are not at the same level, but it does not mean we cannot fight.”
After Gwinn’s goal, China, World Cup finalists in 1999, generated sporadic pressure but Germany, now able to play on the counter attack, created the better chances only to shoot repeatedly straight at Peng. The Germans finished the match with 18 goal attempts to four by China 
Later, Jenni Hermoso converted a pair of second-half penalties as Spain recovered from a goal down to beat Women’s World Cup newcomers South Africa 3-1 in their opening game Saturday.
Thembi Kgatlana put South Africa ahead on 25 minutes with a curling strike from the edge of the box, but Atletico Madrid forward Hermoso twice scored from the spot as Spain fought back. Nothando Vilakazi was sent off for a raised boot as she conceded the second penalty, awarded after a VAR review, with Lucia Garcia sealing victory a minute from time.
France savour perfect start to women’s World Cup
On Friday, France players savoured a ‘dream’ opening to the women’s World Cup after the hosts set the ball rolling in style with a 4-0 win over South Korea before a sell-out crowd in Paris.
More than 45,000 supporters filled the Parc des Princes to watch Les Bleues cruise to a one-sided victory, with giant defender Wendie Renard scoring twice in between goals from Eugenie Le Sommer and captain Amandine Henry. France took the lead in the ninth minute and were 3-0 in front at half-time, having another goal disallowed for offside after a VAR review. France next face Norway in Nice on Wednesday.
Almost a million tickets have been sold for this World Cup amid hopes that the month-long tournament will be a springboard to helping the women’s game really take off. In France, broadcaster TF1 reported that almost 10mn viewers had tuned in to watch the game, a figure it said was a record in the country for a women’s World Cup match.