Women's World Cup 2019 Bracket: Quarterfinals Schedule After Round of 16 Results
June 25, 2019
Italy and the Netherlands became the last two teams to qualify for the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup quarter-finals on Tuesday after they closed the round of 16 by knocking out China and Japan, respectively.
Aurora Galli scored her third goal of the tournament as Italy beat China 2-0 and advanced to tie their best finish at a World Cup. Awaiting them in the next round is the Netherlands, who scored a 90th-minute penalty to beat Japan 2-1 and advance to the World Cup's last eight for the first time.
Norway and England open the quarter-final schedule on Thursday before defending champions the United States attempt to oust hosts France from the running on Friday.
The quarters come to a close with a double helping of fixtures on Saturday, when Italy and the Netherlands will fight for a spot in the semis before Germany and Sweden go head-to-head in Rennes.
Quarter-Final Schedule
Thursday, June 27
Norway vs. England, 8 p.m. BST/3 p.m. ET (Stade Oceane, Le Havre)
Friday, June 28
France vs. United States, 8 p.m. BST/3 p.m. ET (Parc des Princes, Paris)
Saturday, June 29
Italy vs. Netherlands, 2 p.m. BST/9 a.m. ET (Stade du Hainaut, Valenciennes)
Germany vs. Sweden, 5:30 p.m. BST/12:30 p.m. ET (Roazhon Park, Rennes)
Preview
If the United States were lacking real tests of their credentials in the World Cup up until now, the tournament hosts promise to change that in the Parc des Princes in Paris on Friday.
The Stars and Stripes weren't as confident in their 2-1 round-of-16 win against Spain but advanced nonetheless, while Les Bleues showed terrific character to edge Brazil 2-1 in extra time.
However, coach Jill Ellis has among her ranks a grand weapon—one who's anything but secret—in joint-leading scorer Alex Morgan:
Australia's exit means fellow leading scorer Samantha Kerr can no longer add to her tally, and Morgan will be eager to press ahead in her hopes of winning the Golden Boot.
Phil Neville's England will also feature in the last eight and face Norway, who have returned to this stage of the tournament after failing to make it past the round of 16 in each of the last two tournaments.
Lioness Demi Stokes spoke proudly of the squad depth England boast and the options that gives them heading into the next phase of the tournament, via Sky Sports:
England have pressure on their shoulders considering they've featured in the past three World Cup quarter-finals, and Neville will look to mimic France after the hosts beat Norway during the group stage.
The Netherlands became the last team to book their spot in the quarters after Lieke Martens scored on either side of Yui Hasegawa's equaliser to clinch a piece of history for this Dutch team.
The Barcelona forward held her nerve to tuck home a controversially awarded spot-kick in the final minute of normal time, but her back-heeled nutmeg finish for the opener caught more attention, via Fox Soccer (U.S. only):
Eight teams remain in the running to be crowned world champion this summer, including three former title winners and four sides who have never featured in a final.