You can't really call an injury to the world's best female footballer good news, especially if you've got your hands on tickets to see some Euro 2005 action in Lancashire in the next couple of weeks, but word that Birgit Prinz picked up a thigh injury during last weekend's German Cup final might just be received with a smile in other group B dressing rooms – and England's, for that matter. If the hosts escape the group phase it could well be Germany they face in the semi-finals.
The German FA says Prinz hopes to be fit for the start of the tournament, but you can't blame other coaches for having their fingers crossed that Germany's Swedes destroyed Canada in a 3-1 win on Sunday, with Hanna Ljungberg and Victoria Svensson, playing together for the first time since the Olympics, linking up to devastating effect and bagging a goal each. If members of group A weren't already trembling at the thought of keeping the pair at bay – heck, even teams in group B are starting to get fretful – Marika Domanski-Lyfors's girls hit their stride just a week before the European Championships. No wonder they say yellow is the colour of fear.
