Day: June 24, 2019

Women’s World Cupdate: Hosts Prevail in Extra Time

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: Sunday, June 23rd

Sunday’s action at the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup featured a pair of matches that had similar amounts of drama even if the score lines didn’t reflect that. In the first match, England took advantage of two crucial VAR decisions that swung their way to defeat Cameroon and move onto the quarterfinals. Later in the day, Brazil gave host nation France everything it could handle in their match, but in the end, the home side prevailed in extra time to join the quarterfinals party.

England 3-0 Cameroon

Based on the scoreline, you might think this was a clean and easy victory for England but that was not the case. VAR once again reared its head and played a significant role in determining the outcome of the contest, but in the end, the better side did prevail as England move onto the quarterfinals with a 3-0 win over Cameroon.

England benefited from an early mistake from the Cameroon goalkeeper who illegally picked up a back pass from her teammate that resulted in an indirect free kick for England. Captain Steph Houghton crushed the shot lower corner for a 1-0 Lionesses advantage. In first half injury time England struck again to double their lead just before the halftime break. Ellen White continued her torrid play at this Women’s World Cup, finishing off a beautiful feed that was originally ruled offsides, but overturned by VAR for a 2-0 Lionesses advantage.

Cameroon looked to cut the deficit in half early in the second half of play but another VAR review determined that the play leading to the goal was offsides and wiped out the goal. Minutes later, it was a 3-0 England lead when Alex Greenwood hammered home a pass from a corner kick to seal a spot for the Lionesses in the quarterfinals.

This is a third straight quarters appearance for England, and they will look to make it consecutive semifinal trips when they face Norway on Thursday. This marks the end of the road for Cameroon, who exits the tournament after a second straight Round of 16 showing.

Goals

  • Steph Houghton | ENG (14′)
  • Ellen White | ENG (45’+4′)
  • Alex Greenwood | ENG (58′)

Highlights

France 2-1 Brazil (Extra Time)

On the opening day of knockout play at the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup, Norway and Australia needed extra time to decide a winner. Then on the second day, France and Brazil needed an extra 30 minutes to figure out which side was advancing. The only difference was France and Brazil sorted out the mess in the overtime period unlike Norway and Australia who needed penalty kicks. In the end, it was host side France scoring the winning goal in the 107th minute to defeat Brazil 2-1 and advance to the quarterfinals.

Neither side could break the ice in the first half, but just seven minutes into the second half, Valeria Gauvin put France on the board, finishing off a cross in front of goal. Brazil answered back just over 10 minutes later when Thaisa was left along in the box where she beat the French goalkeeper to bring the game level.

That wrapped up the scoring for regular time and the sides headed to extra time to determine who was moving on. Brazil had a golden chance in the 105th minute but the ball was cleared away off the line. Two minutes later, France captain Amandine Henry got on the end of a free kick and directed the ball into the net to put France into the quarterfinals with a 2-1 victory.

This marks a third straight quarter finals appearance for France, where they will meet either Spain on the United States on Friday. For Brazil, it’s another disappointing end to a Women’s World Cup and likely the end of the line for soccer legend Marta on the international stage.

Goals

  • Valeria Gauvin | FRA (52′)
  • Thaisa | BRA (63′)
  • Amandine Henry | FRA (107′)

Highlights

Plays of the Day

A trio of goals and a game saving shot block make up our list of best plays from Sunday’s Round of 16 action at the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup in France.

Steph Houghton (England)

You don’t often see indirect free kicks in soccer, but when they occur it is often an exciting moment. England captain Steph Houghton made the most of her attempt, blasting home a shot that proved to be the game winner early in the first half.

Alex Greenwood (England)

Perfect pass, perfect run, and the perfect shot all added up to create this outstanding third goal from Alex Greenwood that put the cherry on top of a 3-0 England victory on Sunday.

Griedge Mbock Bathy (France)

This result could have been a whole lot different for Fance if not for the defensive heroics of Bathy at the end of the first half of extra time. Her block on Debinha kept the score level long enough for our next top moment to play out.

Amandine Henry (France)

A perfect free kick into the box and France captain Amandine Henry timed her run perfectly to get on the end of the ball and score the goal that sent the host nation into the next round.

Bracket Update

England defeats Cameroon to set up a meeting with Norway in the quarterfinals on Thursday. Host nation France sneaks past Brazil in extra time to qualify for the quarterfinals for a third straight tournament. They await their opponent from the Spain/United States match taking place on Monday.

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via @FOXSoccer

Quarterfinals Outlook

June 27th: Norway v. England

June 28th: France v. Spain/United States

June 29th: Germany v. Canada/Sweden

Here’s What’s Next: Monday, June 24th

We are halfway through the Round of 16 after Sunday’s matches, now it’s on to Monday with another pair of matches on the schedule. First up, the United States continues its title defense against Spain, then underdogs Sweden and Canada face-off to keep their World Cup hopes alive.

Spain (2B) v. United States (1F)

It was business as usual for the United States in group play, but now it starts to get a little more serious. At this stage, you cannot afford even a single bad game, especially against a team of quality like Spain who are in the knockouts for the first time in their history. Good news for the Americans is they are battle tested and bring plenty of knockout experience into this match. Spain will be looking to attack on the counter, so an early goal for the Americans will put Spain on the back foot where they will become more vulnerable to attack as the game drags on.

  • Time: 12:00 PM
  • Location: Stade Auguste-Delaune (Reims)
  • How to Watch: FS1

Sweden (2F) v. Canada (2E)

Two sides that had a more than respectable showing in the group stage will now meet up with a spot in the quarterfinals on the line. Sweden was always destined to finish second in Group F while Canada looked like the slight favorite to win Group E but fell to the Netherlands on Matchday 3. This match is truly a toss up between two sides who could cause havoc in a potential meeting with Germany in the next round.

  • Time: 3:00 PM
  • Location: Parc de Princes (Paris)
  • How to Watch: FS1

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 Outlook

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

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Alex Morgan still holds the top spot as she prepares to play on Monday, but England forward Ellen White continues her ascent up the standings with another tally on Sunday against Cameroon.

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.