The 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup has reached the knockout rounds and the race for the coveted trophy is hotting up.
Here at SLS we take a look at the stand out games, teams and players you should be watching out for in the last 16.
FIXTURE
Without a doubt the match you do not want to miss is Germany vs. Sweden.
The clash of the two European giants commences at 9pm BST on Saturday the 20th June and is the first game of the knockout stages.
Ranked number one in the world, Germany predictably dominated proceedings in Group B with emphatic victories against the Ivory Coast and Thailand, leaving them as top goalscorers in the competition so far. However, when provided with their first real challenge they weren’t quite as impressive, sharing the spoils with Norway in a result that only saw them top the group on goal difference. Despite taking an early lead against the Norwegians, Germany struggled to be clinical in front of goal in the first half and, after an inspired team talk at the break, Norway were able to make them pay. A perfect set-piece from Maren Mjelde saw her side net the goal they needed for the point but they easily could have come away with all three.
Sweden sit just four places behind the German’s in the world rankings and will be looking to cause an upset in the last 16. They are yet to record a victory in this year’s tournament, following three draws in the group stages, but they have been tested far more than their opponents in a group that included African champions Nigeria and the mighty USA. The Scandinavian outfit will no doubt draw inspiration from their goalless encounter with the Americans, to remind themselves they can hold their own against the big boys.
And if Sweden were to be victorious they could face the third and final side in the world’s top three, France, if Le Blues beat South Korea in their last 16 fixture.
OTHER ONES TO WATCH:
USA vs. Colombia could be a tasty encounter on Tuesday 23rd June. Colombia have already provided one shock result of the tournament beating France who are 25 places above them in the world rankings, could they produce another against a USA team yet to hit their top form in the tournament so far?
TEAM
The surprise package of this year’s tournament comes in the form of a young, physical Cameroon side who held their own against the more established teams in Group C to progress to the knockouts in their first ever World Cup competition.
Inspired by star striker Gaelle Enganamouit, the African side – who have an average age of just 24 – smashed Ecuador in their opening game before narrowly losing out to current world champions Japan. Their final fixture was a must-win game against Switzerland, who are ranked a massive 34 places above Cameroon, with the result determining who would gain an automatic qualifying spot. Despite going 1-0 down in the first half, the African’s battled hard and recorded their second victory of the group stages to set up a last 16 encounter with China.
Having scored 9 goals and only conceding three, many fancy this Cameroon side to go on and beat the Chinese and reach the quarterfinals. China have only managed to score three goals so far in their campaign and could be undone by Cameroon’s attacking prowess of Enganamouit, Madeleine Ngono Mani and Gabrielle Onguene who boast 7 goals between them.
OTHER ONES TO WATCH:
Despite sitting within the top 10 teams in the world, no one quite expected Norway to produce the quality they have so far in this year’s World Cup. An inspired display against favourites Germany really showcased how much of a threat the Scandinavians could be. Striker Ada Hegerberg has found a rich vein of form but Norway are capable of scoring goals from all over the park with nearly half their goals coming from defence and midfield. They also boast one of the best defensive records in the competition, conceding just twice so far with goalkeeper Ingrid Hjelmseth notching up an impressive 88.9% save rate.
PLAYER
Lady Andrade has amazed everyone with her pace, quick feet and trickery so far this tournament, and one would be a fool to think there is not more to come from the 23-year-old. A cool and collected finish in Colombia’s second group game set them on their way to a historic victory against France and the striker looked a constant threat against England in the final Group F fixture. In a side of more quality, there is be no doubt Andrade could have grabbed herself more goals but coach Fabian Taborda will be hoping she can come up with the goods again on Tuesday 23rd June to produce another shock against the USA.
OTHER ONES TO WATCH:
After scraping a best third-placed finish, Switzerland now have the difficult task of playing host nation Canada in front of wealth of supporters on Monday 22nd June. However two key members of the Swiss attack, Fabienne Humm and Ramona Bachmann, are unlikely to be fazed, having already bagged themselves 3 goals each in the group stages. And with Canada boasting one of the worst goalscoring records so far in the competition these two players may certainly make the difference in what is likely to be a cagey affair.
