Germany, which has won the Women’s World Cup twice, was eliminated in the group stage for the first time after playing South Korea to a 1-1 draw in their last match in Group H on Thursday.
This was the first time that Germany has been eliminated in the group stage.
Both Germany and Morocco advanced to the round of 16 after winning their respective group matches in Perth. Germany, the defending champions in 2003 and 2007, are now rated second in the world. Morocco defeated Colombia by a score of 1-0 in the other group match played in Perth.
Cho So-hyun scored an unanticipated goal for the Koreans in the sixth minute, giving them an unexpected early lead. Germany’s Alexandra Popp equalized the score with a spectacular header three minutes before halftime, but the Germans were unable to get the game-winning goal they needed to progress.
Casey Phair, who earlier in the competition set a record for being the youngest player to ever compete in the Women’s World Cup, came close to giving the Koreans the lead when her shot in the second minute was pushed against the post by goalkeeper Merle Frohms. Phair is just 16 years old.
However, the team managed by Colin Bell only needed to wait a further four minutes to score. Lee Young-ju’s ball from deep split the German defense, and an unmarked Cho calmly slipped her first-time shot into the bottom corner.
Popp out-jumped the defense to meet Svenja Huth’s right wing cross and loop her header over Kim Jung-mi in the 42nd minute, which allowed the previous world champions Germany to draw level with the hard-pressing Koreans. Germany were frustrated by the hard-pressing Koreans.
The team coached by Voss-Tecklenburg made a concerted effort to score after the half, but Popp’s header in the 57th minute was disallowed by the video assistant referee due to the fact that the striker had drifted offside after Lea Schuller’s deft flick.
The German attacker then hit the crossbar with another headed attempt two minutes later, and Popp was denied once again with 16 minutes remaining as her bullet-header sailed right into the palms of Kim.
Bell’s team held on for a point that knocked the Germans out of the competition despite a couple of shots from substitute Sydney Lohmann that were inches away from the goal deep into nearly 16 minutes of additional time.