Women's World Cup Bracket 2015: Predicting Standings Pre-Tuesday Group Fixtures
The group stage of the 2015 Women's World Cup is fast coming to an end in Canada, with Groups C and D concluding on Tuesday.
First and second from each of the six pools move through to the knockout stages, as do a quartet of the top-points-scoring third-place finishers.
Japan have already joined the likes of China, Germany and hosts Canada in the next round with a game to spare, but they will be hoping to tie Group C up with victory over strugglers Ecuador. The United States, Australia and Sweden all have plenty to play for in Group D.
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Take a look at Tuesday's fixtures, as well as group finishing positions, below:
| June 16 | 10 p.m./5 p.m. | C | Ecuador vs. Japan |
| June 16 | 10 p.m./5 p.m. | C | Swtizerland vs. Cameroon |
| June 16 | 1 a.m./8 p.m. | D | Nigeria vs. USA |
| June 16 | 1 a.m./8 p.m. | D | Australia vs. Sweden |
| TEAM | P | W | D | L | GD | PTS |
| Japan | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | +2 | 6 |
| Switzerland | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | +8 | 3 |
| Cameroon | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | +5 | 3 |
| Ecuador | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -15 | 0 |
| TEAM | P | W | D | L | GD | PTS |
| USA | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | +2 | 4 |
| Australia | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Sweden | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Nigeria | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -2 | 1 |
Group C
| Japan | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| Switzerland | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| Cameroon | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Ecuador | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
Japan have nothing to worry about heading into Tuesday's fixture with Ecuador. Not only have they already secured qualification into the next round with 1-0 and 2-1 wins over Switzerland and Cameroon respectively, they face an Ecuador side who have conceded 16 and scored just one in two matches.
The more interesting contest, then, takes place between the Swiss and Cameroon at the Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton. Switzerland's superior goal difference means avoiding defeat will carve passage into the next round, ensuring Cameroon will look to attack to grab the win. An open, chance-filled game should progress.
Switzerland fired an incredible 10 beyond Ecuador last time out, highlighted by FIFA TV:
Although impressive, Martina Voss-Tecklenburg's side were unable to breach Japan's back line in a much tougher game.
Cameroon have only conceded two (like the Swiss) and are proving to be an ambitious side. They enjoyed chances late on during the 2-1 defeat to Japan, but ultimately left it too late to grab a point.
Dangerous attacker Gaelle Enganamouit is currently the tournament's joint-second top scorer—having netted three so far—and has also notched an assist, per FIFA.com. She has also had more shots on goal than anyone else, hitting the target with eight of 17 attempts across 180 minutes. Her hat-trick against Ecuador can be seen below:
Fabienne Humm and Ramona Bachmann are Switzerland's most effective attacking forces so far also managing three goals each. The Europeans are likely to play tight football and wait for Cameroon to bomb forward before hitting them on the break, a formula that can nick the victory.
Group D
| USA | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 |
| Australia | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Sweden | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Nigeria | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
The United States haven't exactly fired on all cylinders yet, but results matter more than performances in tournament football. Friday's 0-0 draw with Sweden and previous 3-1 win over Australia suggests the hard work is over.
Next up is a more straightforward task against a gutsy Nigeria side who still have a chance of qualifying, despite being in last position.
A point will see Jillian Ellis' team advance, while Nigeria must win and hope Australia overcome Sweden to secure knockout football. USA are struggling for goals—Megan Rapinoe has two and Christen Press has one so far—but Nigeria's defence have proved they can be easily breached.
The official Major League Soccer Twitter account is hoping to see more excellent production from Rapinoe:
As such, anything other than a USA formality would be a shock, particularly if Nigeria plan on defending like they did during the recent loss to Australia, highlighted by WomensSoccerUtd:
Australia know a point against draw specialists Sweden is enough to progress, but landing second place will see them face Brazil. The Matildas will drop down to third if they lose to a Swedish side who proved sloppy in the 3-3 draw with Nigeria and dogged during the 0-0 stalemate with the U.S.
Group D remains extremely difficult to call, below USA at least. The competitiveness of this particular section means every team can progress as the final 90 minutes approach, underlined by four third-place spots being up for grabs.
USA will hope to continue grabbing the results they need at this point. Better performances are likely to come when the stakes increase during the next round in what is turning out to be an ultra-competitive tournament, even for the top sides.
