Women's World Cup 2023: Predicting Semis Bracket Ahead of Last Quarterfinals Matches
One half of the semifinals of this 2023 Women's World Cup was determined Friday morning when Sweden defeated the seemingly unbeatable Japan and Spain overcame the Netherlands, both by the score of 2-1.
Up next, England will battle Colombia while co-host country Australia squares off against France, with the winners clashing in the next round.
Who will emerge from Saturday's games one victory closer to the ultimate goal of hoisting the World Cup for their country?
Find out with predictions for the final two quarterfinal matches, as well as the schedule for the remainder of the bracket.
Friday Scores, Remaining Schedule
1 of 3Friday's Quarterfinal Scores
- Spain def. Netherlands (2-1)
- Sweden def. Japan (2-1)
Saturday's Quarterfinal Schedule
- Australia vs. France (3:00 a.m., FS1)
- England vs. Colombia (6:30 a.m., FS1)
Remaining Schedule
- Tuesday, August 15: Spain vs. Sweden (4:00 a.m., FS1)
- Wednesday, August 16: England or Colombia vs. France or Australia (6:00 a.m., FS1)
- Saturday, August 19: Bracket Third Place (4:00 a.m., FS1)
- Sunday, August 20: Bracket Final (6:00 a.m., FS1)
Can Australia Make It 2-0 Against France?
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Saturday will not be the first time that Australia and France have squared off in 2023.
Prior to the start of the World Cup, the Matildas earned a 1-0 victory over Le Bleues. French goalkeeper Pauline Peyraud-Magnin told The Guardian, "The context [last time] wasn't the same, it was a friendly match. Now it's direct elimination, it's a different thing."
She is right; the context of Saturday's game is different than the July 14 friendly. The stakes are higher, the stage is bigger and every play matters. A win for France instantly trumps that inconsequential, non-tournament exhibition and advances them closer to winning the World Cup that eluded them four years ago.
As it turns out, the context of Saturday's match is different for Australia, too.
The co-hosts of the World Cup lost their star and emotional leader, Sam Kerr, to a calf injury in that friendly. At that point, it was a team in disarray, with no clear indication that The Matildas had enough scorers to make up for their captain's absence. There was very real concern about the Aussie's ability to compete on an international stage without such a key component to their attack.
Then, Hayley Raso overcame a devastating back injury that threatened her career to score three goals in this tournament while establishing herself as one of the standouts of the competition.
Steph Catley made the most of her time on the pitch, scoring two goals on two shots, and Caitlin Foord added two assists.
The emergence of those three players, among others, helped Australia weather Kerr's injury. Now, the star forward is back, giving the home team a full compliment of players. It has created a small issue in that the team has almost too many competitors at their disposal and only so many places to play them, but that is a good problem to have.
France, on paper, is the better team with greater expectations.
They have performed up to them to this point in the tournament but if Le Bleues believe they can shrug off the friendly loss as a game of a different context and not learn from the attacks and counterattacks they may have seen there, they will find themselves eliminated from this World Cup.
The team has added motivation, however.
France wants to eliminate The Matildas in front of their home fans, friends and family, just as they were when they hosted the tournament in 2019.
"The host country, we know that that can be a good or bad thing. This is what the French team went through in 2019. It can be hugely disappointing as it was for France when they were knocked out. We're hoping to put Australia through exactly what France went through when they were the host country in 2019," head coach Herv Renard told reporters.
That motivation may prove to spark the Aussies' desire to not only deliver a second, consecutive win over the French, but to make it a statement one.
Prediction: Australia defeats France, advances to semis against the winner of England vs. Colombia
Can England Overcome Absence of Lauren James?
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Lauren James stepped on the back of Nigeria's Michelle Alozie during Monday's Round of 16 match and as a result of the red card she received, was guaranteed to miss England's quarterfinal match with Colombia. FIFA ruled Thursday that James will miss an additional game, which means the Lionesses will be without their best player until the finals, should they make it that far.
James has been a dynamic presence for England, tallying three goals and three assists. She has put the ball in the net and set her teammates up to do so, throughout the tournament and with her unavailable for the next two matches, head coach Sarina Wiegman must assess how to set her team up to combat the opposition.
Does she change the 3-4-1-2 setup? Does she replace James with Ella Toone, whose heroics helped England win the European Championship in 2022 but has struggled to replicate that performance on this stage?
It is a tricky scenario for the celebrated coach to navigate but one that she will have to figure out fairly quickly if The Lionesses hope to continue their journey to their first World Cup since 1966.
Colombia is a tough match-up in that they are a physical, attacking team unlike any that England has faced to this point. They are a tough, gritty squad made up of veteran leaders like Catalina Usme and rising stars, such as Linda Caicedo.
If England enters the game unprepared, they will lose.
Luckily, the talent depth is such that the team should be able to overcome the scheming issues that may present themselves to still earn a spot in the semifinals.
Prediction: England defeats Colombia, advances to semis against Australia
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