Reigning champions Germany and Athens Olympic runners-up Brazil,
the two best attacking teams in the fifth FIFA Women's World Cup,
will clash in the eye-catching final in Shanghai on Sunday.
This is the first final in a FIFA women's competition pairing a
European and a South American team. No matter who win, they will
create history in the 16-year-old tournament.
If Germany win, they will break the jinx that not a single team
can defend the title. If Brazil win, they will be the first South
American side to take the trophy and the best result for the
traditional soccer giant in women's world arena.
The previous four World Cup champions were the United States
(1991, 1999), Norway (1995) and Germany (2003). Brazil only
clinched a bronze in 1999.
On the team scoring tally, Germany are at the top with 19 goals
for and none against, an incredible clean sheet, while Brazil are
following tightly with scoring 17 times but conceding twice.
Both teams boast world-class strikers, Birgit Prinz for Germany
and Marta for Brazil. They are the ace players to watch in the
final which will give the answer to who is superior.
As an icon of the German women's football, Prinz, who made her
international debut as a 16-year-old in 1994, has accumulated a
list of honours: World Cup winner in 2003, runner-up in 1995;
Olympic Bronze medalist in 2000 and 2004; UEFA European
Championship winner in 1995, 1997, 2001 and 2005; UEFA Cup winner
in 2002 and 2006; German Championship winner in 1995, 1998, 1999,
2001, 2002, 2003, 2005 and 2007; German Cup winner in 1995, 1996,
1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2007; and Super Cup winner in
1996.
The 1.79-meter-tall exceptional striker also won FIFA World
Player Award in a row from 2003 to 2005.
Before the 2007 World Cup in China, Prinz, 29, had surpassed
Heidi Mohr's all-time national scoring record of 83 goals with 90
goals from 143 games.
She scored four goals in the ongoing World Cup, including a
hat-trick in the opener against Argentina. She is like a fast tank
up front and always exerts great pressure on the opponents'
defense.
Marta, the most shinning star at the 2007 World Cup, has scored
seven times to top the scorer list so far. Her amazing dribbling
skills, incredible quick pace and innate scoring instinct stunned
the world and gifted Brazil their first-ever final berth.
Marta caught people's eyes when she took part in the FIFA U-19
Women's World Championship Canada 2002 at the age of 16. And a year
later she was back in the global spotlight at the FIFA Women's
World Cup USA 2003.
Marta beat Prinz to be named the FIFA best women player of 2006,
and she was no doubt the top candidate for the Golden Shoe and
Golden Ball in China 2007.
Many foreign coaches and experts dubbed Marta as the person who
could make all the difference.
Sunday's final will be the sixth head-to-head between Germany
and Brazil at senior level. The previous five matches resulted in
three German wins and two draws.
In World Cup history, Germany and Brazil met twice: in 1995,
Germany won 6-1, in 1999 they drew 3-3, both at group stage.
In Olympic Games, they tied 1-1 in the first round in 1996 and
Germany won both matches in 2000 (2-1 and 2-0), the latter being
the Bronze Medal match.
The only win by a Brazilian women's team was at the FIFA U-20
Women's World Cup Canada 2002 where they won 1-0 at group stage but
lost to Germany two weeks later in the third-place playoff on
penalties.
Germany's road to the final saw 11-0 win over Argentina, 0-0 tie
with England, 2-0 win over Japan in Group A, 3-0 win over DPR Korea
in the quarter-final and 3-0 win over Norway in the semi-final.
Brazil's road witnessed a 5-0 win over New Zealand, 4-0 win over
hosts China, 1-0 win over Denmark in Group D, 3-2 win over
Australia in the quarter-final and 4-0 win over the two-time
champions United States.
(Xinhua News Agency September 30, 2007)