Women's World Cup 2015: Tuesday's Day 11 Takeaways
Japan, Cameroon, the United States and Australia qualified for the knockout stage of the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup on Tuesday as Groups C and D wrapped up play.
Japan, the defending World Cup champions, defeated Ecuador, 1-0, in a result that wasn't nearly as lopsided as some would have expected. Elsewhere in Group C, Cameroon came from behind to beat Switzerland, 2-1, and finish second in the group behind Japan.
Cameroon is the first African side to reach the knockout phase since Nigeria did so in 1999. Both Cameroon and Switzerland are making their first Women's World Cup appearance.
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In Group D, the U.S. took top spot with a 1-0 victory over Nigeria. Australia also advanced with a 1-1 draw against Sweden.
Switzerland and Sweden are still alive, with four of six third-placed teams advancing to the knockout stage.
Day 11 of the Women's World Cup provided no shortage of storylines. Let's rewind and recap.
The favorites still aren't looking like favorites
Japan and the U.S. both finished group play with 1-0 wins and finished atop their respective groups. Neither, however, looked much like one of the favorites.
In this World Cup, that really is not much of a surprise. With the group stage fast coming to a close, none of the favorites is really living up to the label.
The lone exception could be Germany, which pounded Ivory Coast, 10-0, in its opener and also beat Thailand, 4-0. In between, though, the two-time champions could only draw with Norway.
Japan closed out Group C with a 1-0 victory over Ecuador, a team that had lost its first two matches—to Switzerland and Cameroon—by a combined score of 16-1. Yuki Ogimi scored the game's only goal in the fifth minute, and after that, Japan threatened only rarely, though Yuika Sugasawa hit the crossbar with an overhead kick 10 minutes from time.
"We were successful in scoring early and I thought we would be able to score more, but we weren’t able to," Japan coach Norio Sasaki told FIFA.com. "On the whole I think we were able to do quite well in terms of our possession, but unfortunately we weren’t able to score more, which was disappointing."
In Group D, the U.S. clinched first place with a 1-0 victory over Nigeria. Abby Wambach was the lone goalscorer, volleying in a Megan Rapinoe corner in the 45th minute. The Americans had another goal ruled out in the eighth minute for offside.
After slogging through a scoreless draw with Sweden, the U.S. attack improved somewhat against Nigeria. Tobin Heath's inclusion in the starting XI gave the side two natural wingers for the first time in the tournament. And the pairing of Wambach and Alex Morgan—who is recovering from an injury—looked potent in the early stages.
But for all their attacking intent, the Americans scored only the one goal. That has to be a concern as the knockout stage begins.
Through three matches, Japan and the U.S.—the two teams that contested the 2011 World Cup final—don't look anywhere near ready to challenge for another title. But fortunately for them, none of the other favorites has impressed all that much, either.
Cameroon makes history, advances to knockout stage
Cameroon claimed second spot in Group C with an outstanding second-half turnaround against Switzerland, winning the match, 2-1, after trailing by a goal at halftime. The Indomitable Lionesses are the first African side to make it out of the first round of the Women's World cup in 16 years.
Ana Maria Crnogorcevic scored in the 24th minute to put Switzerland ahead, tucking in Ramona Bachmann's deflected cutback. But from the first whistle of the second half, Cameroon thoroughly outplayed the Europeans.
Gabrielle Onguene pulled Cameroon level in the 47th minute, but neither she nor her team was finished. Madeleine Ngono Mani, who entered the match as a substitute early in the second half, notched the winner in the 62nd minute following a flowing team move. Onguene collected the assist with a fine cutback near the byline.
The Africans attacked for most of the second half and in all fairness could have had at least more goal. But that matters little now. With this win, the Indomitable Lionesses finished second in Group C, resulting in one of the first major shocks of the Women's World Cup.
"We knew that we had to score goals against Cameroon if we were to win the game," Switzerland coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg said, per FIFA.com. "I have to say it was a deserved victory from Cameroon in the end."
Having entered the tournament ranked No. 53 in the world, Cameroon was an outsider at best. At least that's what the majority of onlookers thought. Now, however, we all know that this is a dangerous team, a physically imposing squad that will be exceedingly difficult to beat in the knockout phase.
Follow @MiguelCominguez.
