Women's World Cup 2015: Group-Stage Results, Final Standings and Reaction
England secured their place in the first knockout round of the Women's World Cup on Wednesday as they beat Colombia 2-1 in Montreal.
Hotly tipped France responded well to their shock 2-0 defeat to Colombia to beat Mexico 5-0 and claim top spot in Group F.
Brazil maintained their perfect record with a 1-0 win over Costa Rica, while South Korea finished second in Group E after their 2-1 victory over Spain.
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Read on for a look at the final group standings and results, along with reaction ahead of the last 16 matches getting under way on Saturday.
| Group | Fixture | Result |
| F | Mexico vs. France | 0-5 |
| F | England vs. Colombia | 2-1 |
| E | Costa Rica vs. Brazil | 0-1 |
| E | Korea Republic vs. Spain | 2-1 |
| TEAM | P | W | D | L | PTS |
| Canada | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 |
| China | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Netherlands | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| New Zealand | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| TEAM | P | W | D | L | PTS |
| Germany | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 |
| Norway | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 |
| Thailand | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Cote d'Ivoire | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| TEAM | P | W | D | L | PTS |
| Japan | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| Cameroon | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| Switzerland | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Ecuador | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| TEAM | P | W | D | L | PTS |
| United States | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 |
| Australia | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Sweden | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Nigeria | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| TEAM | P | W | D | L | PTS |
| Brazil | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| South Korea | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Costa Rica | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| Spain | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| TEAM | P | W | D | L | PTS |
| France | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| England | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| Colombia | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Mexico | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
England Secure Knockout Spot
England can take some decent momentum into their last-16 clash with Norway after putting on a fine display against Colombia to seal second place in Group B.
Having been edged out 1-0 by France in their tournament opener in an overtly defensive display, England found their feet against Mexico in a 2-1 win, and finished the job against Colombia.
Karen Carney opened the scoring in the 15th minute as she turned home Steph Houghton's parried free-kick, and Fara Williams doubled the Lionesses lead from the spot before half-time.
After the break England looked slightly nervy, but despite a stoppage-time goal from Lady Andrade, England saw out the win.
Coach Mark Sampson said after the win that, while happy to advance to the last 16, England's ambitions lie further ahead, per the FA's Glenn Lavery:
"We’ve got to praise the players. We have got two wins under our belt and qualified from the group so the players can be very proud of that achievement. But we are not putting a full stop there. These players are very ambitious, very determined and they want to go as far as they possibly can in this tournament. We really believe that when we are at our best we can beat anyone. That gives us an opportunity to go a long way. We are going to recover, get ourselves right for a big Norwegian challenge and I’m confident we can keep building momentum.
"
As alluded to by Sampson, Norway await in the last 16, an outfit that held favourites Germany to a 1-1 draw in the group stages and will be tough to beat.
The Mail on Sunday's Oliver Holt notes that England must improve on their performances thus far to get past the Norwegians:
Norway have some very exciting attacking talent, not least their 19-year-old striker Ada Hegerberg, who has already scored three times in the competition.
Organisation at the back will be key for England on Monday, while the same attacking intent show against Mexico and Colombia will be necessary.
France Finally Turn Up
The third-ranked side in the world and heavily tipped to go far at the 2015 Women's World Cup ahead of the tournament, France had an underwhelming start in Canada.
They edged England in a cagey opener, and were then subject to one of the biggest shocks in the tournament's history as they went down 2-0 against Colombia.
However, with last-16 qualification on the line on Wednesday against Mexico in Ottawa, France weren't messing around as they went 3-0 up inside 13 minutes, a record per ESPN's Paul Carr:
Eugenie Le Sommer added her second of the match, France's fourth, before half-time, and Amandine Henry's thunderbolt topped off the performance in the 80th minute, per Women's Soccer United:
France now face South Korea in the last 16 ahead of a potentially mouth-watering clash with Germany in the quarter-finals, and perhaps a semi-final encounter with the USA.
Despite finishing top of Group F, France have moved into the tougher side of the knockout bracket. However, having finally found their form, they should be a match for anyone.
