Women's World Cup 2015: Latest Quarter-Finals Results and Saturday Schedule
The heat is very much on at the Women’s World Cup in Canada, as by the close of play on Saturday, just four teams will remain in the hunt for the coveted trophy.
Germany and USA have already booked their respective places in the semi-finals, after they emerged victorious from gruelling last-eight encounters on Friday.
The Americans produced an exceptional display in the day’s late kick-off to creep past China by one goal to nil in a thrilling match at Lansdowne Road, courtesy of a Carli Lloyd header just after half-time—as BuzzFeed Sports revealed:
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USWNT didn’t really get going in Canada during the group stages, but a commanding performance against the impressive Chinese outfit suggests that they may hold a priceless card for major-tournament success: peaking at the right time.
Meanwhile, two-time champions Germany needed penalties to overcome France following their stalemate 1-1 draw in 90 minutes.
Louisa Necib gave the French a deserved lead in the 64th minute, but a Celia Sasic penalty just six minutes before the final whistle for Germany sent the game to extra time.
France squandered some good chances to win the match during the additional period, and when Claire Lavogez missed her side’s fifth penalty in the shootout, their race was run.
The result was harsh on the French, who are one of the better footballing sides in the women’s game, and ESPN’s Mike Greenberg reflected on the brutality of the defeat on Twitter:
USA and Germany will now face off at Montreal’s Olympic Stadium on Tuesday for a place in the final, but the other semi-final line-up is still up in the air. Here’s a look at the quarter-finals results and schedule:
| Date | Fixture | Score |
| Friday, June 26 | Germany vs. France | 1-1 (Germany win 5-4 on penalties) |
| Friday, June 26 | China vs. USA | 0-1 |
| Date | Time | Fixture | Prediction |
| Saturday, June 27 | 4 p.m. ET/9 p.m. BST | Australia vs. Japan | 1-2 |
| Saturday, June 27 | 7:30 p.m. ET/Sunday, June 30 12:30 a.m. BST | England vs. Canada | 1-1 |
Australia Looking to Defy the Odds Again
When Australia lined up against Brazil in their last-16 clash, the world expected nothing more than a routine victory for the highly rated Brazilians—but the Aussies had other plans.
A late Kyah Simon goal handed the underdogs a deserved 1-0 victory and a quarter-final showdown with Japan—another one-sided encounter on paper.
The holders Japan have barely broken a sweat at the World Cup so far, winning all four of their matches with minimal fuss and playing some good football to boot.
Their 2-1 victory over Netherlands in the last 16 was a much more dominant performance than the scoreline suggests, but that much highlights the Japanese side’s tendency to be a little shaky at the back.
Australia can certainly exploit that with their dangerous front line, and midfielder Elise Kellond-Knight revealed just how pumped up the Matildas are ahead of Saturday’s match:
Even so, Japan should just about have enough to cross the line. Australia can be tough to break down, but the holders have already proved that they can sidestep tricky opponents with ease.
England Face Tough Test Against Hosts
When England defeated Norway to book their place in the last eight of the World Cup, history was made.
Never before had the Lionesses won a knockout-stage match in the tournament, having been eliminated at the quarter-final hurdle directly after the group stage in every World Cup they’ve featured in.
Now, though, they have a real chance to make it to the last four; and manager Mark Sampson believes that it’s the Canadians who’ll be feeling all the pressure on Saturday—via BBC Sport:
"There's been a different Canadian team at this tournament. They've relied on some fortunate decisions and big individual moments. I'm not sure we've seen Canada score a really strong goal. They've put their lives on hold for this tournament but we're excited by the challenge and our squad is ready to take on the Canadian nation.
"
Indeed, Canada haven’t exactly stormed off the blocks in front of their home crowd, with their 1-0 tiptoe past Switzerland in the last round summing up how they’ve performed throughout the campaign: just about good enough.
They’ll undoubtedly need to crank it up a gear against England, but manager John Herdman, who happens to be English himself, says his team are ready to bully their opponents out of the quarter-final—per BBC Sport:
"We're looking forward to getting out there and giving England hell. There's one team that wants to prevent us from getting into the next round and a team here that's been dreaming of that for the last three or four years, maybe their whole lives. We'll be going out there as physical as we can and doing what Canadians do. The players will put their bodies on the line.
"
It’s all set to be one of those tight encounters that’ll be won or lost by a moment of brilliance or an individual error, and the fact that the last two matches between England and Canada have finished 1-0 either way speaks volumes.
It’s very much all to play for in Canada, then, as four teams book their date with destiny on the biggest stage of them all.
