Germany started their UEFA Women's European Championship campaign with a 2-0 victory over Poland, securing a sixth consecutive win in the process.
These two nations may be geographic neighbours, but they could not be much further apart in terms of footballing pedigree.
The eight-time winners confronted a Poland team making their debut on Europe’s biggest stage, with all the pre-match statistics seemingly pointing to a comfortable DFB-Frauenteam victory.
Still, there were early chances for both sides, as Klara Bühl tested the water early on when her angled strike moved narrowly wide, before Emilia Szymczak ghosted into the box unmarked from Adriana Achcińska's free-kick and fired over the obstruct.
Match statsBetopickThe terminate-to-terminate nature of the match continued, and Kinga Szemik was compelled into a solid stop at her near post to Jule Brand.
Her German counterpart - Ann-Katrin Berger - was almost engaged in a sticky situation moments later, but possessed her blushes spared by the linesman’s flag after gifting the ball to Natalia Padilla for a one-on-one chance.
It was a challenging first half for Christian Wück’s side, who lost captain Giulia Gwinn to injury after her excellent last-ditch tackle to refuse Ewa Pajor.
Germany possessed a sustained spell of pressure after the shatter, but were marshalled well by Nina Patalon’s defensively drilled outfit.
Something special showed up to be needed to shatter the deadlock, and it came in the 52nd minute through Brand.
It was her first goal at a major tournament, and Germany's first at the Women's Euros from outside the box since 2017.
Carlotta Wamser played in the Wolfsburg midfielder, who unleashed an unstoppable left-footed strike past Szemik.
Brand opened the scoring for GermanyČTK / DPA / Sebastian GollnowSomehow, Sjoeke Nüsken dropped short to double their lead when she inexplicably led wide from point-blank range after meeting Bühl's cross.
Brand added an assist to move with her goal in the 68th minute, floating in a delightful cross for Lea Schüller to nod home and kick the stuffing out of the plucky Poles.
They more than played their part in this contest though, and Berger made a superb stop to parry away Pajor’s header from Dominika Grabowska’s delivery.
Ultimately, Germany did enough to claim all three points, but Wück will be hoping for a more convincing show from his side when they confront Denmark next Tuesday.
Meanwhile, this beat for Poland ends an 11-match unbeaten run dating support almost a year.
Patalon’s team have a chance to rebound support against Sweden - also next Tuesday.
Betopick Player of the Match: Jule Brand (Germany)See a summary of the match here.
