For this Indian women’s team, which suffered a heart-breaking exit in its push for a semifinal berth, a best-ever finish since the inaugural 1974 edition was at stake. Relevance for World Cup classification matches is a matter of perspective.
Having picked itself up to go again, this side earned itself a small piece of history by finishing fifth with a 3-1 win over Germany here at the Wagener Stadion on Thursday. 5 ranked side. It was a counter-attacking clinic as goals from Ishika and Navneet Kaur in the second half subdued the world no. Starting the tournament ranked ninth, Sjoerd Marijne’s India has exceeded expectations in the Netherlands, pulling off draws against China (ranked 4th) , England (7th) and Australia (8th) to add to this result. After a passive start, Germany came alive in the second quarter, making multiple circle entries without threatening India’s goal. But it was India which shaded Germany for attempts on goal, when Navneet’s powerful backhanded drive drew a save from Finja Starck. Salima Tete was alive to a couple of rebounds but Starck kicked them both out. Germany continued to dominate possession for majority of the game, but the Indian defense, which included tournament debutant, Lalthantluangi, held firm. Then, against the run of play, India opened the scoring after Neha slipped a through ball for Ishika, who composed herself before lifting the ball past Starck for her first World Cup goal. India found plenty of joy through Germany’s centre, repeatedly catching its defense out on the counter. After having gone three games without a goal, India suddenly scored three in the space of four minutes.