Women's World Cup Schedule 2015: Semi-Finals Dates, Live Stream Schedule, Picks
It’s often said that the worst stage of a major tournament to go out in is the semi-finals.
With the tournament climax within touching distance, falling short at the last hurdle is heartbreaking, and even if you lose the final, at least you got there. By contrast, for those eliminated in the semis, the set of players that didn’t quite make it will forever be left with a sense of “what if?”
Germany, the United States, Japan and England will all face up to that prospect at the 2015 Women’s World Cup, with the field whittled down to just four. With drama, tension and an impeccable standard of football guaranteed, here’s a look at where you can catch the games to come and a rundown of how each match is likely to play out.
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| Tuesday, June 30 | 7 p.m./12 a.m. | USA vs. Germany | Montreal |
| Wednesday, July 1 | 7 p.m./12 a.m. | Japan vs. England | Edmonton |
All matches can be streamed live at BBC iPlayer (UK) and Fox Sports GO (US).
United States vs. Germany
Coming into this World Cup, these two sides were the most common picks for glory. They each possess everything needed to become champions; skill, industry, determination and perhaps most importantly of all, masses of mental strength.
For Germany in particular, this steeliness was on show in earnest in their quarter-final. Silvia Neid’s side were comprehensively outplayed by France for almost the entirety of the contest, but Germany were still able to take the match to penalties and held their nerve to secure progression.
But Men in Blazers picked up on some potential concerns for the two-time champions:
They’re deficiencies that the United States would have been confident of capitalising on themselves if they’d been at full tilt in this tournament. Indeed, while the defensive structure of Jillian Ellis’ side has been tremendous, conceding just one goal in the World Cup so far, the USWNT are struggling through matches, not sweeping teams aside.
Encouragingly for the United States they will welcome back two key players for this encounter, Megan Rapinoe and Lauren Holiday, as we can see here courtesy of ESPN’s Paul Carr:
Those two will give the USWNT a major boost, and subsequently, they’re likely to be favourites for this semi-final. But there’s been some premature reassessment of this German team on the back of one poor display against France; every champion has a wobble on the way to glory, lest we forget.
Expect a much-improved German performance when these two teams meet, with Celia Sasic leading the line with distinction. It’ll be a tight game, but after coming through in that difficult clash with the French, expect the Europeans to end the United States’ World Cup dreams.
Prediction: United States 0-1 Germany
Japan vs. England
Reigning champions Japan have gone about their campaign with a quiet authority to this point and they’ll be understatedly confident about getting the job done against surprise semi-finalists England.
In a ferocious quarter-final encounter Japan were able to get the better of Australia thanks to a late goal from Mana Iwabuchi. It was another classy effort from the 2011 winners, who eventually got the reward they deserved for controlling much of the match against a feisty Matildas team.
As noted here by OptaJoe, while Japan do play with a fluidity in attacking areas, they are a very cohesive and awfully tough to beat:
So are England, though. The Three Lionesses notched their best result so far of a wonderful tournament, getting the better of host nation Canada 2-1 in the quarter-finals. Once again it was a masterclass from manager Mark Sampson, who got his tactics spot on in a crucial World Cup encounter.
The England boss paid tribute to his team on social media in the aftermath of their historic win:
You probably won’t find a more spirited team than England at this World Cup. While they may not possess an attacking flair which can compare with the other three semi-finalists, the attitude of these players is immaculate, and in the really big moments in matches, they produce their very best form.
Coping with with the intelligence, speed and experience of the reigning champions will be tough for the Lionesses, though. Like England, there’s a festering belief among these Japanese players that they can win this competition and their superior quality in the attacking third will give them the edge in what should be a gripping fixture.
Prediction: Japan 2-1 England
