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.
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was
RALLY: It was only the second time the Taiwanese has partnered with Kudermetova, and the match seemed tight until they won seven points in a row to take the last set 10-2 Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix women’s doubles final in Stuttgart, Germany. The pair defeated Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a tightly contested match at the WTA 500 tournament. Chan and Kudermetova fell 4-6 in the first set after having their serve broken three times, although they played increasingly well. They fought back in the second set and managed to break their opponents’ serve in the eighth game to triumph 6-3. In the tiebreaker, Chan and Kudermetova took a 3-0 lead before their opponents clawed back two points, but