Women's World Cup Quarterfinals 2015: Bracket Predictions for Friday Schedule

Friday kicks off what should be a rousing quarterfinal stage of the 2015 Women's World Cup, featuring four of the remaining eight teams in battle for spots in the semifinals.

In the day's first contest from Montreal, world No. 1 Germany—far and away the team of the tournament—takes on world No. 3 France, no stranger to high-stakes competition.

Following that contest in Canada's national capital of Ottawa is No. 2 United States against a No. 16 China team seemingly punching above its weight here in 2015. For footy fans, there are few better ways to say goodbye to a work week than these two high-profile pairings.

Here's a complete look at Friday's television schedule, followed by a preview and predictions for each game.

Date	Location	Time (ET)	Match	Prediction	Watch
Friday, June 26.	Olympic Stadium, Montreal	4 p.m.	Germany v France	3-1	FOX
Friday, June 26.	Lansdowne Stadium, Ottawa	7:30 p.m.	China v USA	0-1	FOX

Note: Live stream of each game can be found at Fox Sports Go.


Friday Predictions

Germany vs. France

If these two teams were to meet in the finals, there would be no complaining (from a quality standpoint, that is). As it stands, we somehow get two of the most in-form squads in the world meeting in the quarterfinals, which means a disastrously early exit for one of these two powerhouses.

Andre Ringuette/Getty Images

Germany announced itself as the side to beat this competition with a 10-0 thrashing of Ivory Coast in its World Cup opener and hasn't looked back since. In all, Germany has scored 19 goals in four games, with only Norway able to wrestle them to earth with a 1-1 tie in the group stages.

Forwards Anja Mittag and Celia Sasic lead all scorers with five goals apiece and are the main conduits through which this juggernaut of an attack runs. Germany has seemed nigh on unstoppable at various points in this competition, but Die Nationalelf will find a tough opponent in an industrious, defensively marvelous France side.

For those keeping score at home, well, there's been little to account for from France's opponents in this tournament. France has recorded three shutouts in four games, while popping in eight goals of its own. Colombia, which managed to upset France 2-0 in the group stages, only fired off a total of three shots to France's 21 and kept just 40 percent of possession, per FIFA's website.

Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images

According to Germany coach Sylvia Neid, France's success has been a long gestating work, via ESPNW.com's Ben Gladwell: "They've been working for a long time to get good results, they've got a great training center in Clairefontaine, their youth teams play excellent soccer and they now feel it's their turn to win a title. We can expect a very difficult challenge tomorrow."

Even if Germany dispatches France on Friday, it will mark yet another win in what has been a particularly tough tournament for the team, per Gladwell:

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Germany and France, which are Nos. 1 and 3, respectively, in the FIFA world rankings and two of the favorites for the title in Canada, meet on Friday in Montreal—and it's only the quarterfinals. Germany already eliminated No. 5-ranked Sweden in the round of the 16, and if it defeats third-ranked France, potentially it would have to dispose of the No. 2 team, the United States.

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France's best finish in a World Cup was fourth place in 2011. Les Bleues would love nothing more than to better that record in Canada, but Germany is simply too fluid an attacking team for France to keep up with at this point. It will take a monumental performance from the midfield to win possession and slow down the German attack, but France lacks the firepower to keep up with Germany in the end.

Prediction: Germany 3-1 France


United States vs. China

China has to be feeling confident coming into this matchup against the United States, whose players have not looked at all like their best selves for much of this tournament, save for a few standouts. 

Goalkeeper Hope Solo is in excellent form and the tourney leader in saves with nine, per FIFA's website. Center back Julie Johnston has been resolute in defense. Megan Rapinoe has been a constant source of strength and creativity down the left flank, but alas, she will be absent from the China game with two yellow cards on her ledger.

Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

The loss of Rapinoe is a shame, as ESPNW.com's Jeff Carlisle notes China manager Hao Wei likes to play tight through the middle and concede the outside:

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Hao will send out his team in a 4-2-3-1, with a heavy emphasis on defensive organization. In fact, the back four play so narrow and compact as to practically invite teams to attack the flanks. Against Cameroon, China looked susceptible to high pressure, with its back line ceding possession too easily. In attack, China leans more on technique than physicality. The Steel Roses' offense is initiated by holding midfielders Ren Guixin and Tan Ruyin, who often look to wingers Han Peng and Wang Lisi to use their one-on-one abilities, especially on the counter.

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The United States has managed six goals in four games, but even that is bit misleading. Three of those goals came in the tournament-opening win over Australia, and the United States' 2-0 win over Colombia was made simple when the latter side went down to 10 women in the 47th minute. Midfielder Carli Lloyd, who scored from the penalty spot against Colombia, believes her side is just overthinking the game at some points.

"When you overthink too much you can kind of be unsure of yourself," Lloyd said, via Kevin Baxter of the Los Angeles Times. "At the end of the day it's a game we've played our whole lives. And when we step out on the field, we've just got to let instincts take over."

If a direct approach is what's needed, U.S coach Jill Scott might do well to bring Sydney Leroux back into the starting eleven. She was a constant source of pressure and creativity against Australia. Per Baxter, Ellis will bring in Christen Press to take Rapinoe's place. Press is nominally a forward and a bit out of place out wide, but she did pop in a goal against Australia. 

Todd Korol/Getty Images

China's offense hasn't been particularly impressive in its own right, with just four goals in this tournament. It will likely try to turn this game negative and break up the United States' possession in its shaky midfield while hoofing long balls down the opposite end. 

The United States' lack of cohesion is readily apparent, but Ellis' squad simply has too much attacking talent to be tamped down for 90 minutes by China. Press, Abby Wambach and Alex Morgan are some of the best strikers in the world and all good threats to score, while Lloyd proved her worth from the spot against Colombia. Look for the U.S. to pop in a second-half goal, get a strong performance from the likes of Johnston, Solo and Ali Kreiger in the back and come away with another nervy win.

Prediction: USA 1-0 China