Women's World Cup 2015 Bracket: Round-of-16 Results After Monday Fixtures
The 2015 Women's World Cup continued with two knockout-stage fixtures on Monday. An intriguing clash between England and Norway kicked off the action, and the United States took on Colombia in the second showdown to cap things off.
While the first match was meant to be rather even, the Americans were favored heavily but needed to find a spark on the attack after missing that largely in the group phase.
Check out the list of results from Monday's knockout-phase fixtures below followed by a recap of the two matches on the schedule.
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| England | 2-1 | Norway |
| United States | 2-0 | Colombia |
Bracket Overview
Monday Recap
England Rally to Defeat Norway 2-1
Controlling the pace of the game from the beginning in Ottawa, Ontario, Norway looked poised to advance to the quarter-finals thanks to a 54th-minute header by Solveig Gulbrandsen off a corner kick.
Our Game Magazine had footage of Gulbrandsen's winner that glanced off the crossbar but ultimately did cross the line:
But England wasn't about to go down without a fight. They benefited from two phenomenal goals to cap off a rousing second-half comeback despite a slow start to this contest.
To continue the ongoing barrage of goals, another set piece from the corner helped the Three Lionesses notch the equaliser, courtesy of captain Steph Houghton's header.
Houghton scored just seven minutes after Gulbrandsen had given her side the huge edge, tying the score in the 61st minute.
Gianluca Nesci of theScore applauded Houghton's effort to gain leverage and keep her nation's World Cup hopes alive:
Another big contribution from a defender in Lucy Bronze allowed England to move on to the final eight.
Bronze ripped a shot from long distance on the right side of the pitch that went in the near top corner of the net past the outstretched hands of 'keeper Ingrid Hjelmseth. It may well go down as one of the better goals in this entire Women's World Cup.
Manchester City team-mate Natasha Harding praised Bronze's form:
A scoreless gridlock played out between the two sides in a tense opening half. The tournament's official Twitter account highlighted how dominant Norway were in the early going, though they failed to break through on the scoresheet:
Both teams attempted seven shots in the first half, yet England failed to get any of them on net. Meanwhile, Norway had two balls steered away by Three Lionesses goalkeeper Karen Bardsley.
Harriet Drudge of BBC Radio Sheffield praised the job Bardsley did in the early going:
Although Bardsley did concede the brilliant Gulbrandsen goal, she did well to fend off a relentless Norwegian attack, which didn't allow their adversary to mount any momentum until a collective letdown upon taking the 1-0 lead.
NBC Sports' Arlo White had a fitting summary of the match in his analysis, lauding England for their efforts:
Bouncing back from adversity can only help England as they move on to a match with World Cup host Canada in the quarter-finals. Canada edged past Switzerland 1-0 in their knockout fixture, so England seem to be carrying in the best form.
The bracket on England's side isn't quite as intimidating. Either Germany or France will be eliminated in the quarter-finals on the opposite slate, and Australia pulled an upset on Brazil.
These factors make England's road to the finale easier. The circumstances also have to help their collective mindset ahead of a match where a majority of the stadium in Vancouver, British Columbia, will be cheering against them.
United States Dominate 2nd Half in 2-0 Win vs. Colombia
When Abby Wambach missed a penalty kick in the 49th minute, it appeared the Americans' woes on the attack would continue. Team USA wound up pulling it together, getting two subsequent goals from Alex Morgan and Carli Lloyd on another penalty to advance to the quarter-finals.
Mashable captured the difficult angle Morgan conquered to just barely beat Colombia goalkeeper Stefany Castano at the 53-minute mark:
ESPN Stats & Info supplied some interesting context for Morgan's first goal of the 2015 Women's World Cup:
The reason Castano was on the pitch was because she was pressed into duty. Typical Powerpuff Girls starter Catalina Perez dove into Morgan in the 47th minute and received a red card, ejecting her from the match.
Jeff Kassouf of NBCSports.com gave his take on the situation:
Despite Wambach's miss on the subsequent penalty try, the United States seemed galvanised thereafter. It was all the more impressive to see Morgan be the one to step up amid a frustrating nil tie to help the American offense break through.
BuzzFeed News showed how Castano had no chance on Lloyd's penalty kick in the 66th minute:
American men's team star Jozy Altidore congratulated the U.S. afterward:
"Well done ladies! On to the next round, keep it going!!! #USA #USWNT
— Jozy Altidore (@JozyAltidore) June 23, 2015"
Colombia had little chance to even fathom a comeback, getting just two shots on goal to the Americans' six. The back line held strong for the USA, allowing 'keeper Hope Solo to preserve a clean sheet without too much effort required.
There is some notable history with regard to the next step for the United States:
China haven't placed in the top four since losing in a shootout to the USA in the 1999 Women's World Cup title tilt. Now they have a shot to knock off what's been a vulnerable American side thus far.
Perez's exit was a big break for the United States, yet it also may have been just what manager Jill Ellis' club needed to snap out of a relative funk on offense.
It was a grind for China to get past first-time World Cup upstarts Cameroon by a score of 1-0 in the knockout phase. With either Germany or France waiting in the semi-finals, whoever wins between the United States and China has its work cut out to advance to the ultimate final.
