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.
Crowds descended on the home of 17-year-old Chinese diver Quan Hongchan after she won two golds at the Paris Olympics while gymnast Zhang Boheng hid in a Beijing airport toilet to escape overzealous throngs of fans. They are just two recent examples of what state media are calling “toxic fandom” and Chinese authorities have vowed to crack down on it. Some of the adulation toward China’s sports stars has been more sinister — fans obsessing over athletes’ personal lives, cyberbullying opponents or slamming supposedly crooked judges. Experts say it mirrors the kind of behavior once reserved for entertainment celebrities before
‘KHELIFMANIA’: In the weeks since the Algerian boxer won gold in Paris, national enthusiasm is inspiring newfound interest in the sport, particularly among women In the weeks since Algeria’s Imane Khelif won an Olympic gold medal in women’s boxing, athletes and coaches in the North African nation say national enthusiasm is inspiring newfound interest in the sport, particularly among women. Khelif’s image is practically everywhere, featured in advertisements at airports, on highway billboards and in boxing gyms. The 25-year-old welterweight’s success in Paris has vaulted her to national hero status, especially after Algerians rallied behind her in the face of uninformed speculation about her gender and eligibility to compete. Amateur boxer Zougar Amina, a medical student who has been practicing for a year, called Khelif an
RECORD DEFEAT: The Shanghai-based ‘Oriental Sports Daily’ said the drubbing was so disastrous, and taste so bitter, that all that is left is ‘numbness’ Chinese soccer fans and media rounded on the national team yesterday after they experienced fresh humiliation in a 7-0 thrashing to rivals Japan in their opening Group C match in the third phase of Asian qualifying for the 2026 World Cup. The humiliation in Saitama on Thursday against Asia’s top-ranked team was China’s worst defeat in World Cup qualifying and only a goal short of their record 8-0 loss to Brazil in 2012. Chinese President Xi Jinping once said he wanted China to host and even win the World Cup one day, but that ambition looked further away than ever after a
GOING GLOBAL: The regular season fixture is part of the football league’s increasingly ambitious plans to spread the sport to international destinations The US National Football League (NFL) breaks new ground in its global expansion strategy tomorrow when the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers face off in the first-ever grid-iron game staged in Brazil. For one night only, the land of Pele and ‘The Beautiful Game’ will get a rare glimpse into the bone-crunching world of American football as the Packers and Eagles collide at Sao Paulo’s Neo Quimica Arena, the 46,000-seat home of soccer club Corinthians. The regular season fixture is part of the NFL’s increasingly ambitious plans to spread the US’ most popular sport to new territories following previous international fixtures
RSS