Women's World Cup 2015: Tuesday's Day 18 Takeaways

The FIFA Women's World Cup quarterfinal field is set after Japan claimed the final spot with a 2-1 victory over the Netherlands on Tuesday in Vancouver.

Playing impressive football in their bid to retain the title, the defending champions took a two-goal lead through Saori Ariyoshi and Mizuho Sakaguchi before goalkeeper Ayumi Kaihori's howler gifted the Dutch a late consolation.

Up next for the 2011 champions is a match against Australia on Saturday.

Here are the key takeaways from Day 18 at the Women's World Cup:

Japan is impressive when and where it counts

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The final scoreline suggests a tight match, but in all the areas that mattered, Japan was clearly better than the Netherlands on Tuesday night at BC Place. The holders, in fact, played some of the best football of the tournament so far.

After not entirely impressing in three straight wins in the group stage, Japan showed off excellent passing, movement and technical skill in its first match in the knockout stage. For their part, the Dutch played a good game, but the Europeans were clearly second-best to Norio Sasaki's side.

Ariyoshi broke the deadlock in the 10th minute, powering in her finish on the rebound after a Yuki Ogimi header hit the crossbar. The attractive football continued throughout the first half, but Japan had to wait until the 78th minute for a second goal.

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It was worth the wait.

A superb sequence of teamwork and passing culminated with Mana Iwabuchi dummying an Aya Miyama pass, allowing the ball to roll to Sakaguchi, who curled a magnificent first-time shot into the top corner.

The Netherlands pulled a goal back in stoppage time as Kaihori misplayed a tame header by substitute Kirsten van de Ven, allowing the ball to bounce past her and into the net.

That gaffe will serve as a point of concern for Sasaki ahead of the quarterfinals. But for the most part, Japan limited the Netherlands' chances in the final third. The Europeans created a few good opportunities in both halves, but Japan was clearly worthy of the win on the balance of play. Cristian Nyari of FCB Media, Bleacher Report UK's Andrew Gibney and Ann Odong of the Women's Game noted Japan's superior performance:

And so the defending champions are now just three wins away from a second straight world title. Up next is a match against Australia, a fast, physical and dangerous side that could give Japan problems.

But if Sasaki's team replicates the best aspects of Tuesday's performance, Japan will be difficult to beat—both on Saturday and throughout the rest of the tournament.

Learning experience for the Dutch

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The Netherlands' first Women's World Cup campaign is over, and despite going out with a defeat, the newcomers should be proud of their efforts.

Drawn into a tough Group A, Roger Reijners' side more than held their own against three teams with considerably more World Cup experience in Canada, China and New Zealand. Along the way, the Dutch played some good football and won fans for their obvious technical skill.

Facing Japan in the round of 16 was always going to be difficult. But losing to such an experienced team should serve as a learning experience for the Netherlands.

That appeared to be Reijners' view, who told FIFA.com, "Losing to a very strong opponent like that is no bad thing. I'm proud of my team and the way they stepped up at such a big tournament, even though we can learn some lessons from today's match."

It's hard not to think the Dutch will be back in four years' time, and they'll probably be better.

Quarterfinal field is set

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Five of the six seeded teams are still alive as the tournament reaches the quarterfinal stage. Japan, Canada, France, Germany and the United States claimed spots in the last eight, along with unseeded Australia, China and England.

The quarterfinal round begins on Friday with a showdown between European powers Germany and France in Montreal. Later, China and the U.S. will play a rematch of the 1999 final in Ottawa.

On Saturday, Australia will play Japan in Edmonton, and England will face Canada in Vancouver.

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