GERMANY COACH CONSIDERS STEPPING DOWN

BERLIN, (AFP) - German football coach Silvia Neid told a newspaper Tuesday she will consider stepping down following the team's shock quarter-final exit from the women's World Cup.

'Right now I need some time off. In a couple of weeks when I've got myself back into everyday life I'll ask myself - what do I really want? Can I motivate myself to take part in the European tournament in two years' time? And then I'll find the answer,' she told Bild newspaper.

Germany's head coach Silvia Neid gives a press conference on July 10, 2011 in Wolfsburg, central Germany, one day after her team's shock defeat to Japan. Germany's 0-1 defeat in the quarter-finals of the women's World Cup has also cost them a place at the 2012 Olympic Games in London as they miss out behind Sweden and France. AFP PHOTO

The 47-year-old coach said she was deeply disappointed by her team's defeat on Saturday when Japan scored a goal in extra-time to book a semi-final place against Sweden on Wednesday, wrecking the Germans' bid to win a third-straight World Cup title.

Asked whether she should resign, Neid said 'one can ask the question. But it's my employer, the German Football Federation (DFB), and myself who will decide'.

DFB boss Theo Zwanziger told her 'we have lost a game, but not our skills', she added.

Neid extended her contract till 2016 just before the start of the World Cup.

The Women's World Cup semi-finals line-up for Wednesday (KO in GMT):

At Moenchengladbach
France v USA (1600)
At Frankfurt
Japan v Sweden (1845