It was a hard fought semi-final in Tianjin on Wednesday, Sept. 26, with the two European rivals neutralizing each other for much of the first half.

But German captain Birgit Prinz swayed the match in the defending champions' favor in the 42nd minute with a sharply hit cross that deflected off Norwegian defender Trine Rönning and into the net.

The goal would prove to be the turning point in the contest, but Germany didn't put the match away until halfway through the second half.

Kerstin Stegemann bounced one in off the left post in the 72nd minute to double Germany's advantage, and substitute Martina Müller pounced on an ill-advised back pass some four minutes later to secure the final 3-nil result.

Dream of repeating approaches

German national team coach Silvia Neid was understandably pleased with her squad's performance.

"I'm totally proud of the way we played," Neid told the dpa news agency. "We literally grit our teeth and fought our way into the match -- that was great. And going up 1-nil just before half-time was tremendously important."

Germany will now defend their title in Shanghai on Sunday against Brazil, which beat out the US 4:0 on Thursday.

It will be Brazil's first appearance in a women's World Cup final. Germany won the title in the United States in 2003.