The group stages of the ongoing Women’s World Cup are drawing to a close, and we now have the identities of our first four teams to qualify for the knockout stages. The first Ro16 clash will see Switzerland square off against Spain in Auckland, with the other seeing Japan up against Norway in Wellington.
Swiss qualify as Group A winners
The Swiss qualified as winners of Group A and managed to do so without conceding a single goal. Hosts New Zealand had stunned Norway in the tournament opener but their subsequent shock loss to the Philippines made the equation relatively simple for the Swiss in their final game- avoid defeat and progress to the next round. And that’s precisely what they did with a 0-0 shutout, and Norway’s 6-0 triumph over the Philippines saw them qualify ahead of the hosts on goal difference.
Japan impressive in Group C
Like the Swiss, Japan have qualified for the Round of 16 without conceding even once. And their victories weren’t narrow ones- they thrashed Zambia 5-0, followed it up with a 3-0 win over Costa Rica and concluded their group engagements with a stunning 4-0 demolition of Spain.
Before the start of the World Cup, the predicted betting favourites for the tournament were USA, England and Germany. However, some tournament previews like Joe Fortune, were prescient enough to have Japan as one of the betting dark horses. Japan’s demolition of La Roja has only seen their odds shorten, and they will start as the bookmakers’ favourites against Norway this weekend. The game is also being played in Wellington – the same venue where they thrashed Spain, while this will be Norway’s first fixture in the city.
Spain with 77% possession, but lose 4-0
While Japan made five changes coming into the Spain game, La Roja made just one- regular captain Ivana Andres dropped to the bench, with Rocio Galvez coming into defence and Olga Carmona taking over the armband.
Despite dominating possession- they had a whopping 78% possession to Japan’s 22 and made nearly 900 passes to the Asian side’s 250 odd, Spain had nothing to show for it on the scoreboard. Japan were clinical in the final third, with Hinata Miyazawa netting a brace and Riko Ueki and Mina Tanaka also getting themselves on the scoresheet.
The first Miyazawa goal came on 12 minutes, with Spain’s high line exposed by Jun Endo’s fine pass, and the 23-year-old’s excellent finish did the rest. She then turned provider for team mate Riko Ueki, although there was an element of fortune in the goal, with the ball taking a deflection off defender Irene Paredes and then looping over keeper Misa Rodriguez.
Another terrific finish from Miyazawa, this one from a counter attack five minutes before half time, put Japan 3-0 ahead and effectively ended the game as a contest. There was more pain to come for Spain though, with substitute Tanaka scoring in the 82nd minute, with both Galvez and Paredes not exactly covering themselves in glory in the build-up to the goal.
Japan’s win reminded one of the heroics of their men at last year’s World Cup in Qatar- they beat both Spain and Germany in the group stages of the tournament before going out on penalties to Croatia in the Round of 16.
Tricky draw for Japan?
The women, on current form, will be expected to get past Norway in the Round of 16, but the quarters could be really tricky, with a possible meeting against the United States or Sweden in Auckland looming. Reigning champions USA surprisingly failed to top their group following a 0-0 stalemate against Portugal in their final game, and that opened the door for 2019 runners-up Netherlands to top the group. Should Spain get past Switzerland in the Round of 16, they will, in all probability, face the Dutch in the last eight.
In the last edition of the tournament- back in 2019, both Japan and Spain failed to make the quarters, crashing out of the tournament after identical 2-1 defeats to the Dutch and the United States respectively in the Round of 16. Those two went on to compete in the final, with the USWNT winning 2-0 in Lyon.
This is only the second time the Swiss are competing in the Women’s World Cup. In 2015, they finished third in their group behind Japan and Cameroon, but progressed to the knockout stages as one of the best four third-placed teams. However, they were beaten 1-0 by Canada in the Round of 16.
The Swiss have been very well defensively organised in this tournament- as mentioned before, they’re one of the few teams yet to concede a goal. A good performance in this World Cup will also go a long way in increasing interest back home ahead of the next European Championships in 2025 that the country will be hosting.