We are now at the quarterfinal stage of the FIFA Women’s World Cup. Colombia brewed up a win over Jamaica’s defense while France roasted Morocco. More coffee will likely be required come Friday, but let’s review the last two round of 16 matches and preview the quarterfinals.
Colombia 1-0 Jamaica
Jamaica got to the Round of 16 primarily by allowing no goals in the group stage. They are going out because they only scored the one goal in the group stage. Catalina Usme was left unmarked as a diagonal ball from Ana Guzman was sent to her and she beat Rebecca Spencer far post in the 52nd minute.
It would be all Colombia needed in what was a physical contest as they move on to the quarterfinals for the first time in their history on the women’s side. Colombia have been one of the more physical teams in the tournament and that might give England some pause on Saturday in Brisbane.
France 4-0 Morocco
This match was over in the first 23 minutes as France put three goals up on the Atlas Lionesses and then added a fourth in the second half. Eugenie Le Sommer added to her record goal tally for France, men’s or women’s, to 90 with a brace. This was by far France’s best performance at this World Cup so far.
“The result speaks for itself,” said France coach Herve Renard. “We were able to score four times and now we’ve got a foot in the door for the quarterfinals. Things are getting a little bit heated. Only eight teams left in the running. The objective now is to pull off the best performance that the French team has ever done.”
Next up are the Matildas of Australia in Sydney on Saturday.
So now the quarterfinals are set and we have some intriguing matches. Any of these eight could conceivably win. Spain because of their talent, Netherlands because they are regaining form from four years ago, Japan because their channeling their 2011 team, Sweden because they are the highest ranked team left, Colombia because they play with muscle and mettle, England because they were the other favorites, Australia because of the home crowd, and France because of their experience.
Here’s where you can watch in the States:
Thursday, August 10:
Spain vs. Netherlands, Auckland, 8pm CT (FOX/Telemundo)
Friday, August 11:
Japan vs. Sweden, Wellington, 2:30am CT (FOX/NBC Universo)
Saturday, August 12:
Australia vs. France, Brisbane, 2am CT (FOX/NBC Universo)
England vs. Colombia, Sydney, 5:30am CT (FOX/Telemundo)
(Editor’s Note: A previous version of this post inadvertently switched the match times of Saturday’s quarterfinals. It has since been corrected.)
