Women's World Cup 2015 Bracket: Quarterfinals Schedule After Round of 16 Results
After reigning champion Japan's 2-1 victory over the Netherlands Tuesday, the 2015 Women's World Cup has moved on to the quarterfinals stage.
Only eight teams are left standing, and all of the matches at this juncture have even more at stake and some excellent storylines to complement them. The tournament's official Twitter account provided a snapshot of the updated bracket:
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Check out the list of quarterfinals fixtures below:
| Germany vs. France | 4 p.m. | Fox | Montreal |
| China vs. United States | 7:30 p.m. | Fox | Ottawa |
| Australia vs. Japan | 4 p.m. | Fox Sports 1 | Edmonton |
| Canada vs. England | 7:30 p.m. | Fox Sports 1 | Vancouver |
Kicking off the action is a phenomenal showdown that probably shouldn't even be happening this soon, but that's just the way the draw happened to shake out. Top-ranked Germany will take on No. 3 France in an epic clash that will be hard to top.
Kevin Pelton of ESPN Insider made a fitting NBA analogy for the impending quarterfinal opener:
ESPN's Taylor Twellman believes the Germany-France match is a fortuitous development for the United States:
And that analysis is absolutely valid, because the Americans have been struggling. Even in beating Colombia 2-0 in the knockout phase, the U.S. lacked intensity and continued to not look like a legitimate World Cup contender.
USA midfielders Megan Rapinoe and Lauren Holiday picked up their second yellow cards of the tournament in the Colombia match, which means they'll be suspended against China. The American attack was already lacking with just four goals in the group phase, and now one of its chief playmakers in Rapinoe is out of action.
There's plenty of incentive for China to defeat the USA. They lost in the memorable 1999 World Cup final and haven't placed in the top four since then.
ESPN's Paul Carr notes how history has been kind to the Americans in this matchup to say the least:
Australia will have their work cut out against Japan, but they shouldn't be underestimated as the underdogs. A 1-0 upset over Brazil was what propelled the Matildas into this position, so it's important for the Japanese to not take their impending adversary lightly.
Host nation Canada are still alive and will have the benefit of an enthusiastic home crowd on their side in Vancouver when they close out the quarterfinals schedule against England. The fans certainly helped will Canada past Switzerland 1-0 in the knockout stage, courtesy of Josee Belanger's winner in the 52nd minute.
Canada coach John Herdman praised the job the team's supporters did to drive his side on.
"As hosts we're obviously under a lot of pressure," Herdman said, per FIFA.com. "I'm proud of my team and what we've achieved; they're warriors who know what needs to be done and give it everything they've got. The fans were unbelievable again; it was just surreal."
After a sluggish start against Norway, the Three Lionesses roared back from a 1-0 deficit to claim a 2-1 win and advance. England is a formidable foe that may present even more of a stern test to Canada than Switzerland did.
Ann Odong of the Women's Game lamented how lopsided the World Cup draw is:
It's somewhat unfortunate to see one of Germany and France lose, because they could have both advanced to the finals. Whoever moves on to face the winner of that match will be hard-pressed to see their run continue. The victor between Germany and France may well win the Women's World Cup.
If the United States can't improve their overall quality of play, there may not be much doubt as to who will emerge as the champion. Canada will likely have to negotiate Japan if they manage to push past England, who are no pushovers.
Evenly matched as these quarterfinals appear to be, whoever is left standing between Germany and France figures to be the front-runner to claim the top prize.
