Day: June 28, 2019

Women’s World Cupdate: England Prevail

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: Thursday, June 27th

A lackluster showing against Cameroon was quickly wiped from memory for England, securing a second straight semifinal trip with a dominating 3-0 victory over Norway on Thursday in Le Havre.

Jill Scott opened the scoring early, Ellen White doubled the lead before half, then Lucy Bronze put an exclamation point on the match with a laser strike that all but sealed the win for the Lionesses. Now they sit and wait for France and the United States to battle it out for the right to meet them for a semifinal showdown in Lyon next week.

Norway 0-3 England

For as unconvincing as England looked in their Round of 16 match against Cameroon, they looked every bit the team everyone thought they could be in a 3-0 drubbing of Norway on Thursday to advance to a second straight World Cup semifinals.

England wasted little time getting on the scoresheet, taking a 1-0 lead in just the third minute of action. Ellen White whiffed her shot attempt off a pass from Lucy Bronze, but the ball trickled through to Jill Scott who made the most of her opportunity and clanged a shot home off the far post to put the Lionesses in front.

With the early lead, England could smell blood and went for the throat. Ellen White hit the post on a volley in the 29th minute, but would not be denied a second time just ten minutes later. White went on a great run and set herself up in front of goal for an easy tap in to push the England lead to 2-0 before halftime. With the goal, White moved into a tie for first place in the Golden Boot race with Alex Morgan and Sam Kerr.

Coming into the tournament, England right back Lucy Bronze received high praise from her manager Phil Neville and the rest of the soccer world. On Thursday, Bronze showed exactly why the heavy praise was well earned. Bronze assisted on the opening goal by Scott, then added her own tally which may go down as the goal of the tournament when it’s all said and done. Her strike pushed the England advantage to 3-0, more than enough to send the Lionesses into the semifinals.

Goals

  • Jill Scott | ENG (3′)
  • Ellen White | ENG (40′)
  • Lucy Bronze | ENG (57′)

Highlights

Plays of the Day

When there is only one game on the schedule, it can be difficult to pick out a set of top plays from the day. Luckily for us, Lucy Bronze of England and Ingrid Hjelmseth of Norway gave us something to remember from an otherwise lopsided affair.

Lucy Bronze (England)

You won’t see a ball hit much cleaner than Lucy Bronze hits this strike to put England up 3-0 over Norway in their quarterfinal match. Perfect set piece, perfect shot, perfect result for England who advance to the semifinals.

Ingrid Hjelmseth (Norway)

It mattered little to the end result, but Norway goalkeeper Ingrid Hjelmseth never quit regardless of what the scoreline said. She came up with a big penalty stop on Nikita Parris late to give herself something to hang her hat on, on an otherwise bleak day.

Bracket Update

A look at the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup bracket as it stands after Thursday’s quarterfinal match.

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via @FOXSoccer

England become the first squad to book a spot in the semifinals with a 3-0 victory over Norway. They now sit and wait to see who they will play on July 2nd in Lyon, either France or the United States. We won’t have any clarity on the right side of the bracket until Saturday when the last two quarterfinals matches take place.

Semifinal Outlook

July 2nd: England v. France/United States

July 3rd: Italy/Netherlands v. Germany/Sweden

Here’s What’s Next: Friday, June 28th

It has finally arrived. The match everyone has been waiting for is now upon us, as host nation France and the United States meet in Paris for a spot in the semifinals and a date with England in Lyon. Simply put, this has been the most highly anticipated match for some time, and now the wait is over. Famed Parc de Princes is the site for what many believe may be the match that determines who wins the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

France v. United States

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This was the matchup everyone has been waiting for since the bracket was revealed many months ago. If everything played out as expected, France and the United States were on a collision course for a meeting in the quarterfinals, a match that could very well decided who wins the tournament. What makes it even better is both sides are playing their best soccer entering this match, even if they weren’t overly convincing in the Round of 16. Everything has fallen perfectly into place for this matchup, now it’s just up to the two teams to make it all worthwhile.

  • Time: 3:00 PM
  • Location: Parc de Princes (Paris)
  • 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 Outlook

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

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via FIFA.com

Alex Morgan and Sam Kerr have some company atop the Golden Boot standings following Thursday’s action. Ellen White scored her fifth goal of the tournament, moving her into a tie for the top spot and she very nearly could have had a few more. It was also White’s sixth career Women’s World Cup goal, the most ever by a Lionesses player.

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.