Giants Germany and the US continue their quest for a record third title today when they meet France and China respectively in the FIFA Women’s World Cup quarter-finals.
Top-ranked Germany, winners in 2003 and 2007, face an ambitious France in the largely French-speaking city of Montreal. France are seeking their first major title after finishing fourth in Germany in 2011 and at the 2012 Olympic Games.
Over in Ottawa, the US are up against a resilient China who are rekindling memories of their glory days, when they reached the 1999 final, but lost to the US in a penalty shootout. The US also won the inaugural edition of the tournament in 1991.
Photo: AFP
China failed to qualify for the 2011 tournament and the London Olympics, with their 1-0 round-of-16 win over Cameroon earning them a bonus of about 1 million yuan (US$160,000) from the national soccer association.
Champions Japan, the only team to have won all their matches in the tournament, move to Edmonton where they next play 10th-ranked Australia tomorrow, the same day that England tackle hosts Canada in Vancouver.
Germany coach Silvia Neid dismissed talks of her side being favorites after demolishing Sweden 4-1 in the round-of-16.
“I’m not convinced of it yet,” Neid said. “France are ranked third and it won’t be easy. We know where we stand, but we’re not yet world champions.”
Germany have won two titles, finished runner-up in 1995, and have won every Women’s European title since 1995, but they were shocked in the 2011 World Cup at home, when they equaled their worst-ever showing — losing 1-0 in the quarter-finals to eventual winners Japan.
France midfielder Jessica Houara D’Hommeaux said Les Bleues were out to stop the “steamroller.”
“Germany are a sports machine, a steamroller,” she said. “There’s the United States and Germany, and then everyone else, but we’re closing the gap and I really want people to talk more about France and the other teams. It’s good for women’s football.”
“We’re third in FIFA’s rankings. It’s good, but we’ve won no trophies so far,” the 27-year-old added.
The US play China after beating Colombia 2-0 in the round-of-16 — a costly game for the Olympic champions with key midfielders Megan Rapinoe and Lauren Holiday suspended after collecting yellow cards.
“We’ve dealt with injuries, so I feel very confident in the players we have to be able to step up and help us advance,” US coach Jill Ellis said.
China’s Steel Roses have been gaining momentum since their opening 1-0 defeat to Canada.
“We are improving match by match,” defender Wang Shanshan said, adding that the 1999 final had inspired her to play soccer. “I was in primary school, but I remember watching it very well. That was when my dream started, when China played so well to reach the World Cup final. Sun Wen was my favorite player and my hero at that time.”
Canada will be hoping to get the crowd behind them again at the BC Place Stadium against England, who beat them 1-0 in this year’s Cyprus Cup final, but who lost to the hosts in a pre-tournament friendly.
“It’s almost like we can see the summit,” Canada’s English coach John Herdman said.
“It’s within out grasp. We just have to reach up there,” he added.
Olympic bronze medalists Canada’s best finish was fourth in 2003, while England have never advanced out of the group stage before.
Australia coach Alen Stajcic believes his young Matildas can match fourth-ranked Japan, who impressed in a 2-1 round-of-16 defeat of the Netherlands.
“Japan are the defending world champions. We know how good they are. We played them in the Asian Cup final [which Australia lost 1-0],” Stajcic said.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB