Day: June 23, 2019

Women’s World Cupdate: Norway Needs Penalties

Welcome to your daily 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup update, or Women’s World Cupdate, where we recap the past day’s proceedings from France while previewing what is still to come. These features will run every morning throughout the duration of the tournament and feature highlights, major news, and much more from France.

Here’s What Happened: Saturday, June 22nd

After a thrilling two weeks of group stage play at the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup, it was time for the real contenders to show themselves as the knockout round kicked off with a pair of Round of 16 matches. Heavily favored Germany easily dispatched Nigeria, but Norway needed extra time and penalty kicks to fend off Australia for a spot in the quarterfinals.

Germany 3-0 Nigeria

Another ho-hum performance from Germany resulted in an easy victory over an overmatched Nigeria squad in their Round of 16 matchup on Saturday. Germany were the heavy favorites heading into the match and proved quickly they had the superior talent on their side.

Alexandra Popp and Sara Daebritz scored within seven minutes of each other to give Germany more than enough cushion even before halftime. Lea Schueller added a third goal late in the match to put a final stamp on the dominating performance. On the defensive side, Germany were just as impressive, recording another clean sheet to keep their perfect record intact through four games.

Germany looked impressive once again, but the road will only get tougher from here on out. Next up, they will face either Canada or Sweden in the quarterfinals on Saturday. Nigeria made great strides in this tournament they can look to build on for the future.

Goals

  • Alexandra Popp | GER (20′)
  • Sara Daebritz | GER (27′ PEN)
  • Lea Schueller | GER (82′)

Highlights

Norway 1-1 Australia (Norway wins on penalties 4-1)

On of the best Round of 16 matches on paper lived up the hype on Saturday, with Norway and Australia needing penalty kicks to decide a winner. For most of the match, Norway played on the front foot and seemed the better team, but Australia kept fighting and pushed the game all the way through extra time and into penalties.

Isabell Herlovsen opened the scoring for Norway, finishing off a beautiful through ball that set her free one-on-one with the goalkeeper. That lead was almost enough for Norway, but in the 83rd minute, Elise Kellond-Knight deflected a corner kick into the netting to bring the game level and force extra time.

In the extra time frame, Norway was given another advantage when Australia went down to 10 players after a red card. Even up a player, Norway could not find a go ahead goal and the game had to be settled on penalties. Norway converted all four of its penalty kicks while Australia struggled and only converted a single attempt. By a 4-1 penalty decision, Norway won the game and earned a spot in the quarterfinals.

Securely in the next round, Norway can relax on Sunday and watch the match between England and Cameroon to see who they will face next. Australia will surely be disappointed with the result, but leave France with high hopes for 2023.

Goals

  • Isabell Herlovsen | NOR (31′)
  • Elise Kellond-Knight | AUS (83′)

Highlights

Plays of the Day

Four teams played but only two advanced to the quarterfinals. Luckily, for the losers, winning isn’t a requirement to be featured in our best plays of the day.

Isabell Herlovsen (Norway)

The real beauty of this play is the through ball by Karina Saevik, but Isabell Herlovsen does a good job to get open and finish the play to make sure the pass was not a wasted opportunity.

Lea Scheuller (Germany)

This was a flat out gift from the Nigeria defense but credit to Lea Scheuller who didn’t hesitate for a second and crushed this shot far post on her first touch after receiving the turnover at her feet.

Lydia Williams (Australia)

Australia went down to 10 players in extra time after a red card, but goalkeeper Lydia Williams did everything in her power to force a penalty shootout with a couple high level saves, but none were better than this.

Bracket Update

Germany and Norway advance to the quarterfinals with victories in their respective Round of 16 matches. Now they sit back and wait to find out who they will face when they return to action in the next round.

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Quarterfinals Outlook

June 27th: Norway v. England/Cameroon

June 29th: Germany v. Canada/Sweden

Here’s What’s Next: Sunday, June 23rd

If Saturday was any indication, then we are in for a treat as the knockout rounds move forward. Action resumes on Sunday with another pair of matches in the Round of 16. England look to keep marching towards a first ever Women’s World Cup title while host France is back on the pitch against an aging but still talented Brazil side.

England (1D) v. Cameroon (3E)

England comfortably reached this stage with three group wins while Cameroon needed an injury time goal against New Zealand to qualify. This is a historic second straight trip to the knockouts for Cameroon but they will be running into a Lionesses side that is playing at the top of their game. Unless Cameroon can get ahead early and force England into mistakes, this should be a lopsided affair.

  • Time: 11:30 AM
  • Location: Stade du Hainaut (Valenciennes)
  • How to Watch: FS1

France (1A) v. Brazil (3C)

When the groups and bracket were revealed, this was never going to an easy match for France, assuming they won Group A. Brazil, Italy, and Australia were all crammed into Group C and all three were going to be outs for France. Brazil may not be the force it was in past years, but they still won two group matches and only finished third because of a second tiebreaker. France will be favorites, but Brazil is by no means any pushover.

  • Time: 3:00 PM
  • Location: Stade Océane (Le Havre)
  • How to Watch: FOX

You can watch all these games live on the channels listed or streaming online at FoxSports.com with a cable sign in.

If highlights are more your style, check out @FOXSoccer on Twitter where goals and game recaps are posted throughout the day.

All game times are listed in Eastern Standard Time.

Golden Boot Standings

The Golden Boot Award goes to the top goal scorer at the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

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Sam Kerr came very close to moving past Alex Morgan for the top spot, but she couldn’t convert chances and her tournament comes to an end with five goals. Sara Daebritz of Germany jumps into the Top 10 with her penalty goal against Nigeria.

Keep up to date on everything Women’s World Cup right here on “The Bat Flip” where we will be posting our daily Women’s World Cupdate to recap what went on and preview what’s still to come in France.