Women's World Cup Quarterfinals 2015: Bracket Dates, Teams, Times and More

The Netherlands and Japan brought the first knockout stage of the 2015 Women's World Cup to a close Tuesday as the tournament is now getting set for the quarterfinals.

Eight teams remain, including defending champion Japan, the United States and the world's top-ranked team, Germany.

Below is the complete schedule of the quarterfinals, where to watch them and a look at a can't-miss match:

Time (ET)	Team	Team	Venue	Watch
Friday, June 26, 4 p.m.	Germany	France	Olympic Stadium	FOX
Friday, June 26, 7:30 p.m.	China	United States	TD Place Stadium	FOX
Saturday, June 27, 4 p.m.	Australia	Japan	Commonwealth Stadium	FS1
Saturday, June 27, 7:30 p.m.	England	Canada	BC Place Stadium	FS1

Game to watch: Germany vs. France

What a matchup this is set to be—and what a shame that it is only coming in the quarterfinals. Top-ranked Germany takes on No. 3 France in the last eight. The organization of these quarterfinals has created an outcry from some in the soccer world, including Sports Illustrated's Grant Wahl:

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France and Germany were two of the six seeded teams for the WWC draw last December. But unlike in the men’s World Cup, where seeded teams (other than the host nation) are drawn randomly into their groups, FIFA decided before the draw which groups all the seeded teams would be in at the Women’s World Cup. ... Basically, FIFA feels like it needs to put certain teams in certain cities to sell tickets and in certain time zones to help with TV ratings back home.

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While Germany has looked unstoppable at times, neither of these sides had an undefeated group-stage record.

Colombia shocked France in their second match last week, 2-0. But France made quick work of Mexico in the final group game (5-0) and South Korea in the knockout stage (3-0) to restore confidence heading into these quarterfinals.

After Germany's 10-0 demolition of Ivory Coast in the opener, a 1-1 draw with Norway set up an easy 4-0 victory over Thailand. Germany then took the fifth-ranked team in the world, Sweden, and dismantled it 4-1 in the round of 16.

Germany holds the two leading scorers of the tournament. Anja Mittag and Celia Sasic have each netted five goals in the tournament, including three apiece in their win over Ivory Coast.

Germany's attacking prowess has been at times overwhelming to its opponents, as the squad's 19 goals lead all nations.

But France has its duo of attacking powers as well. Eugenie Le Sommer and Marie-Laure Delie each have three goals, trailing only the two Germans.

The last time these two teams met, in an October 2014 friendly in Germany, France came away with a 2-0 win.

Also in their bracket, the winner of the United States-China match will be waiting for the victor of this game. Assuming the U.S. moves on, former forward Taylor Twellman is trying to find positives of having the first-, second- and third-ranked teams in the world on the same side of the quarterfinal bracket:

While one of these two European powers will be going home Friday, both have qualified for the 2016 Olympics in Brazil. But all focus and eyes will be on this titanic clash between two of the best teams in the world.

*Stats courtesy of FIFA.com.