By Yan Liang
BEIJING, July 19 (Xinhua) -- The 2007 women's soccer World Cup champion Germany, runner-up Brazil and third-placer United States are still top favorites for the Olympic title in Beijing.
Germany and Brazil are in Group F, the toughest at the Olympics, together with the Asian powerhouse DPR Korea and the rapidly improving Nigeria. The Group of Death will definitely attract most of spotlights.
Germany's women soccer quickly developed into a world power along the lines of their men. Supremely well-organized and boasting experienced stars such as defender Ariane Hingst, playmaker Renate Lingor and striker Birgit Prinz, Germany is no doubt seeking to add another Olympic title to its belt.
Like the United States, it's hard to find any flaws on the German side.
Striker Prinz, with over one hundred goals for her country, will play a key role during the team's Olympic campaign. The three-time FIFA Women's World Player of the Year (2003-05) owns great physical strength and defenders often have to foul to stop her from progressing.
One question to the German team will be the choice of goalkeeper: both 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup star Silke Rottenberg and 2007 heroine Nadine Angerer are vying for the number one shirt.
On the Brazil side, they have humbled the United States 4-0 in the semifinal of FIFA World Cup 2007 but suffered a 2-0 loss to Germany in the final. Their Olympic squad is almost the same with the national side in last year's World Cup. Only captain Aline Pellegrino was stuck down by a knee-ligament injury in a recent friendly in South Korea.
Their top star Marta, regarded as the best women soccer player in the world so far, has all the techniques wrapped up in a five-foot-three package: dazzling dribbling, speed, balance and vision.
Looking ahead to the Beijing Olympics, Marta said: "This team has enough talent to win the gold medal. We just need a little bit of luck, which we haven't had up to now."
At the Athens Olympics, Brazil lost to the United States in the final.
"The team is more mature than it was in 2004. We've made a lot of progress in the past few years," Marta added.
DPR Korea recaptured the Asian Cup title they lost two years ago as they overcame China 2-1 in the final in June. The Asian champions famous for their fighting spirits could become a dark horse at the Beijing Olympics. However, their performance may be limited by lack of experiences of international matches.
Nigeria, having never reached the knockout stages of an Olympic women's soccer tournament, wants to make history in China this summer.
"Qualifying for the Olympics is not an end in itself," coach Joseph Lapido said. "We are continuing to make progress and I have a feeling the girls can go on and do great things at the Games."
Olympic defending champion United States, with Japan, Norway and New Zealand in Group G, is expected to breeze into the quarterfinals.
"If we don't get the gold medal, I don't know if I'll have a job," U.S. head coach Pia Sundhage said. "That's how it is in the U.S. They have high expectations."
Unable to reach the final of the last two FIFA Women's World Cups, the U.S. women soccer's reputation is on the line. And Sundhage will be desperate to make her first major top-level tournament at the helm a successful outing.
The U.S. Olympic squad includes half of the players from the Athens gold medal-winning team. Abby Wambach, Christie Rampone, Aly Wagner and Kate Markgraf are the most experienced players, all with more than 100 national team appearances. They have shown good shape in preparation for the Olympics, defeating Sweden 1-0 and humiliating Olympic group rival Norway 4-0 in warm-ups earlier this month.
Norway has been suffering from retirements of some influential veterans such as Ragnhild Gulbrandsen, Lise Klaveness, Camilla Huse and goalkeeper Bente Nordby, and coach Bjarne Berntsen hopes the young generation can safeguard Norway's reputation on women' soccer.
Host China is in Group E against Sweden, Argentina and Canada. Having boasted their golden years of 1990s, the Steel Roses suffered from a downward spiral, dropping to their lowest ever 14th in the latest FIFA rankings.
But the 63-year-old coach Shang Ruihua brought hope to the team since he took charge in April. Known as the godfather of the women's soccer in China, Shang has injected some fresh faces into the squad and hoped to rebuild teamwork and confidence.
Shang has set the goal of leading his players to secure a semifinal place at the Olympics. But it is not easy for those girls to achieve this goal as they have to finish first in group stage to avoid Germany or Brazil in the quarterfinals.
China's group rival Sweden has been active front runner in the women's soccer. However, their golden generation - led most notably by the front pairing of Hanna Ljungberg and Victoria Svensson - seems to be approaching its sell-by date. Coach Thomas Dennerby has been opting for new strikers in recent friendlies. The team's new icon is leggy 23-year-old Lotta Schelin, Swedish player of the year for 2006.
By the time the Beijing Olympics officially open on August 8, the women's soccer tournament will be comfortably underway. As the first competitive action of the Olympics, six matches of women's soccer will kick off on August 6 in three cities.
The 12 contenders have been divided into three groups, and the top two teams in each group and the top two third-placed teams will progress to the quarterfinals.
According to the Olympic agenda, the final of women' soccer will be held on August 21 at Workers' Stadium in Beijing.
Special report: 2008 Olympic Games
