Brazil and Germany had a goalless draw in their Olympic women's football tournament opener in Shenyang on Wednesday.
Both teams created a lot of opportunities in front of the goal on both halves, but their attempts were squandered or denied by the great saves of goalkeepers.
"I'm not satisfied with the result today," said the Brazilian coach Jorge Barcellos. "We made a lot of trouble for the German defense but also wasted a lot of chances."
"But I understand that it's the first game and the players are nervous. I hope they can do better and better in the tournament," he added.
Brazil's line-up features two-time World Player of the Year Marta, and Germany boasts veteran forward Birgit Prinz.
Brazil dominated the match early on and in the 12nd minute striker Christiane received a perfect cross from Marta in the left, but only ballooned the ball over the crossbar.
"It's a pity that I didn't grasp the chance because I ran a bit over," Christiane said at the post-match press conference.
Germany started to find form and fight back after 20 minutes into the match, with a header from forward Sandra Smisek surging over the cross-bar in the 23rd minute, much to the relief of the Brazilian goalie Andreia.
Germany's best moment in the first half came in the 41st minute, when Prinz's shot slipped the far post.
Four minutes before the injury time, Marta penetrated Germany's defense solely but her shot was saved by Angere again.
"Our defense was perfect and we only gave them two chances in the first half," said German coach Silvia Neid. "The second half Brazil was stronger. But we did well in covering Marta. Our defenders did a good job, they moved all to get Marta a difficult angle."
"Its's the first game and both teams need to find themselves. Their combination will be more fluent."
Brazil lost to Germany 2-0 in last year's FIFA World Cup Final in China and both teams are favorites to win the Olympic gold medal.
(Xinhua News Agency August 6, 2008)