Olympic Soccer Schedule 2012: Must-See Women's Quarterfinal Matchups

The Olympic women's soccer quarterfinals are scheduled to kick off Friday at the 2012 London Games, where eight nations will begin the knockout stage in the chase for gold. 

The United States women have set the bar high at the last two Olympic tournaments, winning gold in each, and have swept through their first three group matches already this summer.

Although Team USA is the hands-down favorite to win it all, the journey has just begun and they need three more wins to earn gold.

That being said, the Americans aren't the only can't-miss squad suiting up on Friday. Here are the must-see women's quarterfinal matchups on Day 7 at the 2012 London Olympics. 

United States vs. New Zealand, 9:30 a.m. ET, NBC Sports Network

The Americans will look to remain undefeated at the 2012 London Olympics when they take on underdog New Zealand on Friday at St. James' Park.

The Kiwis overwhelmed Cameroon, 3-1, in their final group match to advance to the quarterfinals on goal differential, having lost their first two matches to Great Britain and Brazil narrowly.

Meanwhile, the United States has rolled through the first week in London, outscoring its opponents 8-2 in three matchups, and failing to concede a goal in the last two matches.

Alex Morgan has two goals to her name, while Abby Wambach has three tallies, scoring in each of the United States' three group meetings. New Zealand will be in store for a very difficult time on Friday, but based on their performances against Great Britain and Brazil, they will be game and likely give the Americans a little bit of a scare. 

Whichever squad earns the victory in this match will take on the winner of Great Britain vs. Canada in the semifinals, and guarantee themselves at least a shot at the bronze medal if all else fails.

The concern for Wambach, Morgan and Team USA on Friday will be their level of awareness and sense of urgency against lesser competition in New Zealand.

If the American women get too comfortable in their front-running position, they could slip up in their journey to a third consecutive Olympic gold. Still, the odds of that happening aren't good, even if the U.S. has an off-day they'll still survive the Kiwis.

Brazil vs. Japan, 12 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network

Two gold medal hopefuls will square off Friday afternoon at Millennium Stadium across the pond, when Brazil meets Japan for a shot at advancing to the semifinal of the 2012 Olympic Games. Japan is coming off a World Cup title in 2011, in which they beat the United States on penalty kicks in the final.

With that said, all eyes will be on the Japanese in London as they look to follow up their first World Cup crown with their first Olympic medal of any kind in women's soccer.

Facing them, the Brazilian women have won silver in the Olympics two consecutive times, dating back to 2004 in Athens. Both nations will be shooting for gold this summer though, but unfortunately one squad's run will have to end prematurely in the quarterfinals.

Whoever progresses will take on the winner of France vs. Sweden in the semifinals on Monday, ultimately locking them into a spot in the bronze medal match. I have to go with Brazil in this matchup, however.

Japan has drawn its last two matches, failing to concede or score a goal in either one. Marta is still an elite player for the Brazilians, and I like her skill (she scored two goals against Cameroon in the opener) going up against a Japanese squad that has had serious issues finding the back of the net in London. 

*Click Here For the Entire Olympic Soccer TV Schedule (Courtesy of NBCOlympics.com).

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