Women's World Cup Quarter-Finals 2015: Bracket Predictions for Saturday Schedule
The drama and tension of knockout football at a major tournament has been thrillingly prevalent so far at the Women’s World Cup, with Germany and the United States pushing into the semi-finals in contrasting but equally engrossing circumstances.
For those of us who have been bewitched by this wonderful competition, the good news is that we’re only at the halfway stage of this round and the remaining two quarter-final ties are just as enticing as the aforementioned pair.
Here are the key details for both of these games and a closer examination of which sides will join the aforementioned twosome in the final four of the Canada showpiece.
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| Saturday, June 27 | 4 p.m. ET/9 p.m. BST | Australia vs. Japan | 2-1 |
| Saturday, June 27 | 7:30 p.m. ET/Sunday, June 30 12:30 a.m. BST | Canada vs. England | 1-0 |
Japan Must Be Wary of Awesome Australia
The biggest surprise of the knockout stage so far came when Australia knocked out Brazil in the round of 16. But having come this far, the Matildas, as is the Aussie way, will fancy their chances of marching on to the final, meaning reigning champions Japan need to watch their step.
Australia coach Alen Stajcic will be delighted with the manner in which his side have performed so far. Not many would have expected the Matildas to even progress from a difficult group, but after roughing up the United States in the opener, they’ve gone from strength to strength in Canada.
As noted by Grant Wahl of Sports Illustrated, the win over Brazil was a major step made by this side:
Japan are very tough opposition, though. Up to now, the reigning champions haven’t commanded too much attention from the media covering this competition, but they’ve been going about their business with a silent authority, winning every game they’ve been involved with so far.
They’ve been functional rather than fluid to this point, and those pragmatic traits were on show again as they edged past the Dutch last time out. But as Cristian Nyari of FCB Media points out, perhaps those criticising Norio Sasaki’s side and their playing style have been a little unfair:
Both of these sides love to play a high-intensity game, but the humid conditions anticipated in Edmonton could potentially hamper those tactics being deployed. But Stajcic doesn’t think it’ll be an issue.
“The last time we played Japan, it was 37 degrees and a lot more humid,” he said per ABC.net. “I'd say we were the fittest team in the tournament at the moment ... Japan are going to have to deal with a fit and fast Australia tomorrow.”
Japan are a fine side and a team that will be extremely difficult to beat. But there’s a festering determination and an unshakable belief present among these Australia players. Given their superior fitness and the extra day of rest they’ve been afforded, expect the Matildas to waltz into the last four at the expense of the holders.
Prediction: Australia 2-1 Japan
England Can Get Better of Canadian Hosts
This quarter-final match is a massive opportunity for two nations that have made immense recent progression to cement this status as a top-quality outfit, with both Canada and England bidding to book a semi-final spot for the first time
Despite coming this far, Canada have yet to find an attacking spark as of yet. John Herdman’s team have yet to score more than once in any of their four World Cup games, and after some abrasive efforts in the group stages, they edged past Switzerland with another altruistic display in the round of 16.
But as we can see here courtesy of ESPN’s Paul Carr, defensively, Herdman is getting a tune out of this team:
Nonetheless, there are definitely areas to be exploited, and England coach Mark Sampson had no problems addressing that ahead of the game: “There's been a different Canadian team at this tournament,” he said, per Alistair Magowan of BBC Sport. “They've relied on some fortunate decisions and big individual moments. I'm not sure we've seen Canada score a really strong goal.”
Indeed, England’s matches have been pretty open affairs so far. For long spells against Colombia and Norway, the Lionesses were outplayed, but they’ve conjured quality moments at precarious points to tilt games their way.
Bleacher Report’s Andrew Gibney paid tribute to this team after they came from behind to beat a strong Norway side last time out:
With a raucous crowd set to be backing Canada in Vancouver, it’s only natural that the hosts will raise their game a notch. England need to be astute in their attacking play and determined in defence, but Sampson’s side should relish being the underdogs at BC Place. They’ll soak up Canada pressure, snatch a goal and see out an historic win.
Prediction: Canada 0-1 England
