Melanie Leupolz played over an hour for Germany as they kicked off their World Cup campaign with an impressive 6-0 victory over Morocco.
Her Chelsea team-mates Ann-Katrin Berger and Sjoeke Nusken were unused substitutes in Melbourne, with Leupolz typically impressive in a central midfield role. She kept play ticking over for Germany, completing 51 of her 60 passes during her time on the pitch, and won three tackles and two aerial duels.
Alexandra Popp put Germany in a commanding position with two trademark headers in the first half to take her international tally to 64 goals. The German skipper, who scored in every Euros game last summer until picking up an injury in the warm-up before the final against England, will be pivotal if Germany are to go deep in this tournament too.
Leupolz thought she had an assist to her name after sliding in Sara Dabritz who finished coolly before Popp’s second, but the offside flag was raised.
Any hope of a Moroccan comeback was extinguished in the first minute of the second half. Klara Buhl fired home to end a goalmouth scramble in which Germany had hit the bar.
A pair of own goals either side of Leupolz’s withdrawal midway through the second half added gloss to the scoreline for Germany, who ensured they registered the biggest win of this World Cup so far courtesy of a 90th-minute Lea Schuller strike.
Morocco, spearheaded by former Chelsea attacker Rosella Ayane, did not offer much of a threat on their World Cup debut, but will hope for better luck against Colombia and South Korea.
Source : Chealsea FC
