Germany defeated France 4-2 in Mönchengladbach on Tuesday to take their third win in Group A and advance to the quarterfinals of the World Cup at the top of the group.

Germany, who were urged on by a sold-out crowd of 46,000, now move on to face Japan, who finished second in Group B in their quarterfinal match in Wolfsburg on Saturday. France take on England in Leverkusen.

Captain on the bench

The German coach, Silvia Neid, made four changes in her lineup from the game against Nigeria, including relegating the captain, Birgit Prinz, to the bench, in favor of Inka Grings.

Grings found her way into the starting lineup for the first time in the tournament, after coming on as a substitute against both Canada and Nigeria. This was the first time that Prinz hasn't been in Germany's starting lineup in 26 games.

The host nation opened the scoring in the 25th minute, when Kerstin Garefrekes, who was wearing the armband on the night, headed home after a free kick from Babett Peter.

Grings repaid coach Neid's faith in her by giving Germany a two-goal margin by heading in a cross from Simone Laudehr in the 32nd minute.

Plucky French make a game of it

In the second half, France twice battled back to narrow Germany's lead to one goal. Marie-Laure Delie got the French women onto the scoreboard with a header off a corner in the 56th minute.

Germany's two-goal lead was restored when Grings, who was named player of the match, again found the back of the net. This time she struck from the penalty spot after the French starting goalkeeper, Berangere Sapowicz, became the first player in the tournament to get a red card, for bringing down Fatmire Bajramaj.

Four minutes later though, France took advantage of another corner - and poor marking from the Germans - with Laura Georges scoring from a free header.

Germany's Celia Okoyino da Mbabi removed any doubt about the final result with her goal one minute from time.

The Japanese await

"We played very, very well today and got into the game right away," coach Neid said. "I think we have now arrived in the tournament. We will now prepare intensively for the Japanese. They won't be an easy opponent."

This may be true, but Germany's record against Japan couldn't be much better, with seven wins and one draw in a total of eight matches against the team.

Consolation for Nigeria

In the other Group A match, Nigeria beat the hapless Canadians 1-0 in a meaningless encounter in Dresden, as both teams had already been eliminated prior to Tuesday's contest. Perpetua Nkwocha took advantage of a Canadian defensive lapse to score the only goal the Nigerians would need in the 85th minute. This came after the game had to be suspended for about 10 minutes due to a power failure.

England finished top of Group B with a 2-0 win over Japan in Augsburg. Ellen White and Rachel Yankey had England's goals either side of the half.

In the other Group B match, New Zealand pulled off two last-minute goals - the second coming in the fourth minute of stoppage time - to earn a 2-2 draw with Mexico in Sinsheim. That was New Zealand's first-ever point in a Women's World Cup. Mexico, who finished third in the group with just two points, are also on their way home.

Author: Chuck Penfold (dpa, dapd, AFP)
Editor: Andrew Bowen