World champions Germany will fight for their first three points in the match against Nigeria on Saturday.
In their openers, Germany and Brazil settled for a scoreless draw, while Asian champions DPR Korea edged their African counterparts Nigeria 1-0.
Germany will take on Nigeria, and Brazil will face stiff resistance from the Koreans in the undisputed "Group of Death".
Nigerian coach Joseph Ladipo had bragged before the games kicked off that his side will be one of the qualifiers for the next round.
But the team is now seen as underdogs in the group as they relied too much on individual skills and lacked definite organization.
The coach didn't lose confidence. "I hope and I believe that next game against Germany will be a different game," he told a post-match press conference after losing out to the Koreans.
Boasting two two-time African Women Player of the Year, Uwak Cynthia and Perpetua Nkwocha, the Super Falcons are the seven-time African champions. However, they have been unable to dominate beyond Africa in such arenas as the FIFA Women's World Cup or the Olympic Games.
Germany have taken precautions against the Africans to make sure they don't miss the opportunity to snatch a key win.
"It's difficult to predict how they will play," said German coach Silvia Neid. "They have five players in defense and attack but you never know who they are. This would be a tough game as well."
In Germany's first match, the team successfully curbed the overwhelming offensiveness of medal favorites Brazilians.
"It's the first game and both teams need to find themselves. The combination will be more fluent match by match," Silvia said.
If there is anything World Cup champions Germany are still interested in adding to their trophy collection, it would also be the Olympic gold medal. The team finished third in both Sydney and Athens and this time they are setting to fill the blank.
Silvia Neid's side in this Olympiad have 16 players who participated in last World Cup, including goalie Nadine Angerer, defender Ariane Hingst, midfielder Renate Lingor, and forward Birgit Prinz.
(Xinhua News Agency August 8, 2008)