Women's World Cup Results 2015: Group Scores and Twitter Reaction from Friday

Play at the 2015 Women's World Cup continued Friday as Groups C and D kicked off their second round of group-stage matches.

Most eyes will be on the United States' clash with Sweden. Both teams are serious title contenders, and the fact Swedish national team coach Pia Sundhage coached the U.S. before moving back to her homeland added a little more intrigue to the game.

Below, you'll find the full results from Friday's play and a brief recap for each match.

Friday Scores

Group	Team	Result	Team
D	Australia	2-0	Nigeria
C	Switzerland	10-1	Ecuador
D	United States	0-0	Sweden
C	Japan	2-1	Cameroon

Friday Recap

Australia Cruise in 2-0 Win over Nigeria

Michael Chow-USA TODAY Sports

Kyah Simon put two goals past Nigeria to earn a 2-0 victory for Australia on Friday in Winnipeg. It was a strong performance from the Matildas after they looked good early on, but they ultimately ran out of gas in a 3-1 defeat to the United States to start the group stage.

Although Nigeria entered the World Cup ranked 33rd, Australia national team coach Alen Stajcic knew Friday's match wouldn't be easy, especially after the Nigerians drew 3-3 with Sweden last week.

"We know we've got a tough game," he said, per the Australian Associated Press (via ABC). "Nigeria showed they're a quality opponent, and they were probably unlucky not to win that game against Sweden the other day. We all knew it was the group of death, and I think it's an even better and tougher group than what we thought beforehand."

Simon got Australia off to a great start in the 29th minute. Lisa De Vanna deserves a lot of credit for the goal since her run down the left helped attract the attention of the Nigerian defense and opened up space for Simon. Granted, it wasn't an easy finish for the 23-year-old:

Fox Soccer's Kyle McCarthy also praised Simon for getting into a good position to score:

Dan Lauletta of the Equalizer remembered watching Simon during her time in the United States and was particularly pleased to see her get on the scoresheet:

Australia supporters were likely getting a bit nervy, though, the longer the match remained 1-0. As much as the Nigerian back line looked shaky, the Super Falcons were just one good counterattack away from tying the game.

But Simon made it 2-0 in the 68th minute, which effectively put the match out of reach for Nigeria. Simon capitalized on some dreadful defending, putting away her volley from close range:

Football writer Colin Udoh criticized the Nigerian defense as a whole on the goal and singled out goalkeeper Precious Dede for her indecisiveness:

According to ESPN Stats & Info's Paul Carr, Simon is the first Australian to register a brace at the Women's World Cup:

The defeat isn't crippling for Nigeria, but they have a tough task ahead in order to advance to the knockout stages. They need a win against the U.S. in order to secure second or third in the group. The Americans might not have looked great in their first match, but they remain among the strongest teams in the tournament.

Victory for Australia doesn't guarantee passage to the round of 16, but they already have one foot in the next stage with the three points.

Switzerland Drop 10 Goals on Ecuador in One-Sided Win

Anne-Marie Sorvin-USA TODAY Sports

In Ecuador's first match of the World Cup, they allowed six goals to Cameroon. Things only got worse Friday as Switzerland blitzed La Tricolor for double digits. Fabienne Humm and Ramona Bachmann both registered hat tricks in the 10-1 demolition.

Angie Ponce had a somewhat more ignominious hat trick of her own, scoring Ecuador's only goal on a penalty in the 64 minute but registering separate own goals in the 24th and 71st minutes. According to Carr, she's the first Women's World Cup player with two own goals:

Humm also made history with her hat trick. No WWC player scored her three goals in quicker succession than Humm, who had goals in the 47th, 49th and 52nd minutes:

You can view the record-breaking goals below:

Increasing the number of teams in the Women's World Cup will likely help to grow the game, but in the short term, it's creating more results like Switzerland's victory over Ecuador. Germany beat Cote d'Ivoire 10-0 earlier in the group stage.

Sports Illustrated's Grant Wahl wonders what Ecuador's defeat says about Trinidad and Tobago, who lost a two-legged playoff against Ecuador to miss out on the World Cup:

Group C is pretty much up for grabs. You can pretty much dismiss Ecuador at this point, but Switzerland, Japan and Cameroon are all tied with three points—Cameroon and Japan conclude Friday night's play.

United States, Sweden Play to 0-0 Stalemate

Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

Switzerland obviously hoarded all of the goals and refused to share any with the United States and Sweden. The two teams earned a point in a 0-0 draw Friday.

The best scoring opportunity belonged to Sweden, who saw a shot on goal cleared off the line in the 77th minute. Caroline Seger's left-footed shot was headed off the crossbar by Meghan Klingenberg:

After the game, Klingenberg joked that her impressive leaping ability helps to make up for her rather small stature, per Steven Goff of the Washington Post:

Both teams had legitimate penalty shouts turned down throughout the match. If one of both of the decisions turned out differently, then who knows how the match would've unfolded? Maybe it would've added a little more desperation for the team that went behind.

All in all, neither Sweden nor the United States did enough to earn all three points. Sweden's defense was improved from their 3-3 draw with Nigeria, but coach Pia Sundhage didn't really open up her tactics until later in the match. Meanwhile, the U.S. simply doesn't look like a fluid unit. The space was there to exploit, but the Americans were unable to take advantage.

Considering both teams could claim to be a World Cup title contender—and with the added intrigue of Sundhage managing against her old team—Friday's result was rather disappointing.

The United States remains first in Group D, holding a one-point lead over Australia. Sweden are in third with two points, and they may end up seriously regretting that draw with Nigeria if they can't defeat the Matildas.

Given how slow the Nigerian defense looked against Australia, if the U.S. fails to get on the scoresheet in its next game, then coach Jill Ellis could have some serious issues on her hands.

Japan's Two Early Goals Enough to See off Cameroon

Japan scored twice in the first 17 minutes, which was enough to earn a 2-1 win over Cameroon late Friday night in Vancouver.

Aya Sameshima found herself in the right place at the right time in the sixth minute to open the scoring. Nahomi Kawasumi's cross from the right went untouched by any Cameroon or Japan players. Annette Ngo Ndom expected somebody to get a foot on the ball, and when nobody did, she was woefully out of position.

Sameshima had a simple finish to make it 1-0:

Eleven minutes later, Yuika Sugasawa doubled Japan's advantage after heading in a cross from Aya Miyama:

You could point the finger at Ngo Ndom more for the second goal as she was simply slow to react to the cross and unable to get a hand to the ball. Sugasawa did well, though, to elevate and make strong contact.

Cameroon had 20 shots, only three of which were on target. They simply couldn't break down the organized Japanese defense. When Ajara Nchout scored in the 90th minute, it was too little, too late for the Indomitable Lions.

Gaelle Enganamouit in particular was a dynamic presence at the top of the Cameroonian attack. Her finishing was a bit lacking, but she did very well to hold up the ball and help set up her teammates. MLSSoccer.com's Matthew Doyle hopes Enganamouit remains in North America once the World Cup wraps up:

"

I hope somebody in NWSL is smart enough to sign Enganamouit. She's fun.

— Matthew Doyle (@MLSAnalyst) June 13, 2015"

"

Enganamouit's movement & vision are wonderful. I don't care that she can't finish. She's fantastic. #CMR

— Matthew Doyle (@MLSAnalyst) June 13, 2015"

With the win, Japan became the first team to secure passage to the round of 16, per ESPN FC:

"

Full time at BC Place, where Japan hold on for a 2-1 win after a late push from Cameroon. Japan first side to reach round of 16 in #WWC2015.

— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) June 13, 2015"

It's sometimes easy to forget the Japanese are the defending world champions with all of the time and attention paid to France, Germany and the United States in the buildup to the World Cup. Japan haven't been overwhelming in their first two matches, but there's something to be said for simply getting the job done and taking six out of six points to start the tournament.