In the tenth minute, after the Matildas failed to deal with a quick attacking move by the Germans, Sjoeke Nusken punished the less than impressive defending to open the scoring.
The Matildas also struggled to make a good start after coming out of the sheds at halftime, conceding just a couple of minutes into the second half when Kathrin Hendrich, who was left all on her lonesome at the back post, got on the end of a pinpoint cross from Sara Dabritz.
Eighteen-year-old debutant Jule Brand then got on the scoresheet for the Germans’ third and notched an assist on Laura Freigang’s goal that made it four-nil.
Linda Dallmann rounded out the scoring for the home side with a nice shot.
Emily Gielnik took advantage of a mix-up at the back by Germany with an 82nd minute strike and put away a free header in injury time but her brace was mere consolation for Australia.
Australia was missing key players including Stephanie Catley and Ellie Carpenter.
Those plying their trade in the W-League were not eligible for selection due to COVID protocols, although most regular Matildas departed the Australian domestic league before the start of the current season.
The Fox Sports feed – a retransmission of the host broadcast – did not display a score graphic until late into the first half. An in-house graphic was added to the top-left corner of the screen by the 38th minute.
Let’s hope the broadcast of this afternoon’s Big Blue W-League grand final between Sydney FC and Melbourne Victory at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium, which will also be screened live by public broadcaster ABC, doesn’t suffer from any such glitches.
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Gustavsson’s side’s next opportunity to prepare for this year’s Olympic Games comes against the Dutch side in the early hours of Wednesday morning (AEST) at Goffertstadion in Nijmegen, Netherlands.