Germany vs. France: Date, Time, Live Stream for 2015 Women's Soccer World Cup
The marquee tie of the Women's World Cup starts the quarter-final stage, as the European powerhouses of Germany and France face off.
The Germans have been the favourites for the title since day one of the competition, per Oddschecker—but the French offer them a credible threat to their progression.
The fixture pits two of the top-three ranked sides in the world against each other, in what should surely have been a semi-final game.
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Here is how you can watch this intriguing battle, with fixture and streaming information:
Viewing Info
Date: Friday, June 26
Time: 4 p.m. (ET), 9 p.m. (BST)
Live Stream: Fox Sports 2Go (U.S. only), BBC iPlayer (UK only)
TV Info: Fox Sports (U.S. only); BBC3 and HD, Eurosport and HD (UK only)
Match Preview
If it wasn't for the French standing in their path, Germany would be the overwhelming favourites to make it to the semi-final stage first.
However, France are one of the very best teams on the planet, and their motivation will be high to defeat their near neighbours.
In all honesty, this game should not be a quarter-final tie, with FIFA amending its usual seeding procedures—as comprehensively explained by Sports Illustrated's Grant Wahl:
"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.
"
Despite this system appearing unfair, the World Cup is guaranteed to lose one of its best teams on Friday, with Germany in electric form. They have already hit 19 goals in Canada, per FIFA.com, and the French will need to move up a gear to live with them.
Germany strikers Anja Mittag and Celia Sasic are the tournament's top scorers, proving the Germans have an attack like no other. When you consider some of the early shocks in the group stages, Germany have always looked potent in front of goal, despite drawing their second match 1-1 against Norway.
France started their campaign slowly and were shocked by Colombia in their second tie, losing the game 2-0. However, the generous group qualification procedure of the World Cup meant there was little doubt they would make the knockouts.
Eight goals with no reply against Mexico and South Korea have restored confidence for the Blues, and they are primed to cause a shock against Germany.
Two of the stars of both sides have been Leonie Maier and Amandine Henry—with both players being chosen in Bleacher Report lead writer Mike Cummings' best team of the group stages:
Despite the technical ability of France, it is difficult to call anything but a Germany win. The Germans are devastating in attack but also solid in defence and midfield—and they are the total package at this competition.
France struggled in the group stages, but they have blown away the cobwebs in impressive fashion in their last two games.
However, Germany are possibly the closest example to an unbeatable team left in this competition, and their exit is unthinkable in the quarter-finals.
