WWC23 | England v Spain - Spain win the World Cup - and Rubiales gets sacked

That's game.

Japan's easily been the most impressive team this cup both tactically and mentally. Able to dominate AND soak up pressure.
 
Good win for Japan, a nice 3-1. Norway made a game of it, but Japan are a better team.
 
I was left very nervous at times, but Japan were the better team and showed it when it mattered. Hinata Miyazawa is simply ON FIRE with 5 goals!

Time for the Nadeshiko to rest and prepare for the quarterfinals.

Samid said:
Football lost today
Click to expand...

*Insert J. Jonah Jameson's :lol: :lol: :lol: here*
 
Pogue Mahone said:
Gas the way Japan - men or women - are always amazing to watch at every tournament.
Click to expand...
What's been interesting this week is that we've seen two completely different Japan approaches. Against Spain they were content to sit back, let Spain have the ball and got them on the break. Today they were picking and choosing how and when to play keep ball. Nice team.
 
Japan continuing to be the most impressive team in the tournament, playing the most attractive attacking football without the defensive naivety you often see with that. I hope they don’t get knocked out on penalties by some team that just parks the bus against them. It’d be good for women’s football if a team like Japan won.
 
Japanese football has really laid the foundations for a brilliant future.
 
Japan are no longer a dark horse and one of the clear favorites to win this tournament. They're so clinical.
 
FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023™ Group Stage Facts & Figures
On the pitch
 126 goals scored (average 2.63 per game).
 89 yellow cards (average 1.85 per game) and five (5) red cards (average 0.10 per game).
 The 2023 finals have seen teams from all six Confederations win a match for the first time in a
FIFA Women’s World Cup™ tournament.
 When New Zealand defeated 1995 winners Norway in Match 1, an Oceania Football Confederation
(OFC) representative won a match for the first time in FIFA Women’s World Cup™ history.
 Nigeria are the first African nation to complete a group campaign in the FWWC without losing a
match.
 Australia, Colombia, and Switzerland won their group for the first time.
 Colombia became just the second South American team to win a group in FIFA Women’s World
Cup™ history, after Brazil.
 Only one of the four former winners (Germany, Japan, Norway and USA) won their group – Japan
won Group C, Norway and the USA came second, and Germany finished third.
 New Zealand, Philippines, Zambia, Portugal, Jamaica, South Africa, and Morocco each registered
their first win (or wins) at a FIFA Women’s World Cup.
 Barbra Banda (Zambia) scored the 1,000th goal in FIFA Women’s World Cup™ history against Costa
Rica.
 Morocco became the first African team to win two successive FIFA Women’s World Cup™ matches,
and the first to keep successive clean sheets.
 Debutantes Portugal became the only the second team to stop USA scoring in 27 Group Stage
matches after Sweden in 2015 held them to a goalless draw.
 Only three teams went through the Group Stage without conceding a single goal - Jamaica,
Japan and Switzerland.
 Brazil had scored in 23 successive group-stage matches until Jamaica held them without scoring
to eliminate them - the first time Brazil had not scored in a group match since 1991 against
Sweden.
 A truly global round of 16 – teams representing all continents have advanced to the knockout
phase.
 There are three representatives from Africa in the knockout stage for the first time - Morocco,
Nigeria and South Africa. The only other time there was more than one was in 2019 when
Cameroon and Nigeria reached the knockout stage.
 Jamaica, South Africa, and Morocco qualified for the knockout stage for the first time.
 Jamaica have become just the third team from Concacaf to qualify for the knockout stage in FIFA
Women’s World Cup™ history following USA and Canada.

Lots more info here:
https://digitalhub.fifa.com/m/75b93...a-New-Zealand-2023-Group-Stage-Statistics.pdf
 
R16 - Netherlands v South Africa
Netherlands vs. South Africa for a spot in the quarterfinals against Spain, we're under way.
 
Kgatlana came mightily close of scoring the equalizer but missed by an inch or two.

This game will be very open.
 
Jermaine Seoposenwe has already been lost to injury. Now Bambanani Mbane has to be stretchered off. Very rough day at the office for South Africa and yet it's only 1-0 so far.
 
She's lightning fast. Pity couple of shots she took were straight at the goalie.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Rood
Mertens just scored for the Netherlands, but she looks offisde at first glance on the original TV replay.

edit: Goal quickly dismissed by the VAR.
 
WHAT WAS THAT BY KAYLIN SWART??!!! :eek::eek::eek::eek::lol::lol::lol::lol:

That was a very weak shot by Beerensteyn, and yet it went through the goalkeeper's hands and in. Netherlands 2-0 South Africa.
 
Last edited:
The Netherlands get through with a 2-0 win. South Africa had their chances, but a lack of opportunism in key moments is what cost them the result at the end of the day.

See you in 7 hours for the big one in this round of 16.
 
Van Domselaar looked really good in the highlights I watched. Makes quite a difference, especially seeing how that 2-0 went in.
 
RedDevilQuebecois said:
The Netherlands get through with a 2-0 win. South Africa had their chances, but a lack of opportunism in key moments is what cost them the result at the end of the day.

See you in 7 hours for the big one in this round of 16.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the summary. Looking at the stats it sounds like Netherlands had most of the ball but SA had plenty of chances - corners, shots, shots on target.
 
R16 - USA v Sweden
USA looking the livelier and more convincing team at the moment.
 
Rodman shot from the edge of the area gors straight at the keeper. Keeper fumbles it. Sweden need to keep the ball more, they can't keep inviting the US to attack - but at least they've finally got the ball out of their half now!
 
Very poor from Sweden. Dropping too deep and then no belief in their ability to play out of the back
 
KirkDuyt said:
Van Domselaar looked really good in the highlights I watched. Makes quite a difference, especially seeing how that 2-0 went in.
Click to expand...
She is a very good keeper, and as you imply, the likes of her and Earps quite lifts the standard for traditionally has been the weakest role in the female game. Kind of like Lev Yashin and Gordon Banks elevated the keeper role to something kids dreamed of becoming, to lift the keeper role from ‘the least likely to score will be put in goal’ to a special heroic role in the men’s game.
 
Ayush_reddevil said:
Very poor from Sweden. Dropping too deep and then no belief in their ability to play out of the back
Click to expand...
Championship experience doesn’t just follow individual players. USA look like they’re used to this, Sweden looks nervous and anxious, even if they have experienced players like Asllani and Rolfö leading the front.
 
Horrendous first half from Sweden. Worst 45 by a country mile this tournament. Not sure what has happened.
 
My fellow swedes, the game has begun, time to wake up for the 2nd half, lucky to be even :-)
 
That's the best I've seen from the USA this tournament. Sweden disappointing so far.
 
jojojo said:
That's the best I've seen from the USA this tournament. Sweden disappointing so far.
Click to expand...

USA wasted their energy in the 1st half, sweden have reserved energy, confident its just clever strategy from Gerhardsson ;)

Dont forget we have 38 year old Caroline Seger on the bench who has not played a full 90-minute game in 380 days as a joker substitute.

Its all going according to the plan.
 
Lightbringer said:
USA wasted their energy in the 1st half, sweden have reserved energy, confident its just clever strategy from Gerhardsson ;)

Dont forget we have 38 year old Caroline Seger on the bench who has not played a full 90-minute game in 380 days as a joker substitute.

Its all going according to the plan.
Click to expand...
Is the plan not to bother until we play extra time?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.