Simone Laudehr’s 26th minute goal was all Germany needed to defeat Italy 1-0 in Sunday’s Euro 2013 quarterfinal. The win sets up a semifinal meeting with hosts Sweden in this heavyweight side of the bracket.
Sweden thumped Iceland 4-0 earlier in the day to cruise into the final four.
Laudehr’s goal wasn’t the prettiest, but it was enough for Germany to get past a scrappy Italy team. Laudehr got her foot on the ball in a scrum in the box and it deflected in past Italy goalkeeper Chiara Marchitelli, boosting Germany past Italy in a quarterfinal for the second straight Euro tournament.
“I’ve seen a great deal of Sweden,” Germany coach Silvia Neid said. “They’re a great team, they’ve scored 13 goals because they have a great attack with [Lotta] Schelin and [Kosovare] Asllani and very good players out wide. They are very solid in midfield with [Carloline] Seger, and pulling [Nilla] Fischer back was a good idea. They’re a good side from back to front, but why should my players have any fear? They don’t need to.”
