England beat Germany 1-0 in women's hockey World Cup

England defeated Germany 1-0 on Tuesday in a Group A match from the women's hockey World Cup, currently under way in Madrid.

The English team needed a victory to have any chance of going through to the semi-finals.

In the first half, the German team was strong and keen to win, sending balls into the rival area that troubled England's defenders, but ultimately did not score.

By contrast, when England had the ball, the team moved it swiftly to mid-field, but Germany did not let itself be intimidated, and the balls went no further forward.

In the second half, both sides were determined to open scoring. Germany's Anke Kuehn gave England the opportunity in minute three, stopping a ball illegally with her legs, triggering a corner. England captain Helena Richardson swiftly scored.

The rest of the match was end-to-end play, but without clear goal-scoring opportunities.

Germany must now beat Holland to stand a chance of going further.

Elsewhere on Tuesday Holland crushed China 6-1, an expected result. Holland has been in great shape and won every game while China has only lost. Holland is already through to the next phase, and the team's Silvia Karres and Kim Lammers made short work of China's defense, scoring three goals each. Also on Tuesday, Spain beat India 3-2.

The Dutch team are already through to the next phase, but either Spain, England or Germany could win the other place. Spain plays England on Wednesday while Holland plays Germany.

At the end of the day's play, the Group A points table is as follows: Netherlands 12, Spain nine, England seven, Germany six, India one and China 0.

Source: Xinhua