By Juhi Shah
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Twenty-five days have gone by since the FIFA 2015 Women’s World Cup began. In this time, plenty has happened – 24 teams have played 48 matches, Brazil’s Marta set a new goal scoring record, Formiga from Brazil became the oldest player to score in a Women’s World Cup match, and Brazil and France have been knocked out of the cup already. Who’d have guessed?
And now, only four teams remain. In the first semi-finals, to be played in Montreal, World No. 1 takes on World No. 2 – that’s right! Germany plays USA. The second semi-final match will be at Edmonton (and I’ll be watching it live!), where 2011 World Cup Champions Japan will take on the team that I consider the underdog this year – England.
How did these four teams get here? Let’s take a look at their journey so far.
First, there’s Germany, who steamrolled into the semi-finals.
They won their first World Cup game this year against Ivory Coast with a staggering scoreline: 10-0 (one goal short of their personal best of 11-0 against Argentina back in 2007). The second game was a tough one, played against Norway – a team everyone expected to move into the top four – and ended with a 1-1 draw. In the last game at the group stage, Germany beat Thailand with a comfortable 4-0 to top their Group.
In the Round of 16, Germany faced Sweden and won 4-1. Sweden was no match for them that day, but it was a beautiful game to watch: the passes and moves Germany made reminded me of watching the German men’s team playing in the 2014 World Cup.
But the quarterfinal match between Germany and France was by far the best match of the 2015 World Cup so far (and I’m not the only one who thinks so). France was on the attack from the minute they started playing, and they had so many chances to score, but just didn’t have luck on their side. Germany, for their part, was good on the counter-attack, and there was a point when it seemed like nobody’s game. France came back stronger in the second half, and scored in the 64th minute, thanks to their star midfielder Louisa Nécib. But Germany still wasn’t ready to give up and the French keeper had to pull out some excellent saves. France’s luck changed in the 83rd minute, when a penalty was awarded to Germany and Célia Šašić converted it into a goal. France looked drained and tired during extra time, but had a really good chance when Germany thought a player of theirs was offside when she wasn’t. Unfortunately, her shot went off the target from the side.
When the match went into kicks from the penalty mark, both teams stepped up their game and were ready for it. Germany, who went first, scored 5 goals while France only scored 4. German goalie Nadine Angerer was the game’s hero, saving the most crucial penalty kick and thereby leading her team to the semi-finals. (Watch the highlights here.)
Then, there’s USA, the hot favourites who might be making a comeback.
The USA, as I’ve said before, started off in the so-called ‘Group of Death’. Their first match was against Australia, who took the lead in the game, and USA had to come from a goal down to win the match 2-1. Next, they played Sweden, whose current coach Pia Sundhage was previously the coach of the USA national team until they won the Olympics in 2012, and therefore knew most of the players’ weakness and strengths. (Her comments about US team members in an interview with The New York Times were not something you’d expect from a coach of her calibre). Anyway, the USA went on to draw 1-1 against Sweden. Next, they played Nigeria –that proved to be a good game to watch. Both teams played a very physical game, and this even led to a Nigerian player receiving a Red Card, and being sent off. Abby Wambach scored her first goal this World Cup, and USA went on to top the Group of Death.
Their Round of 16 match against Colombia was an easy game, I’d say. They did find it tough at the start and Hope Solo had to make a few good saves from her end, but they went on to win by 2 goals after saying goodbye to Megan Rapinoe and Lauren Holiday as they had received 2 Yellow Cards each in separate games. They’ve started every match for the US this World Cup, but had to miss the next match – the quarterfinals against China.
USA had all the control they wanted in their game against China. They had possession of the ball most of the time, and also had several chances to score a goal, but were unable to convert until Carli Lloyd scored to take them to the semi-finals. (Head here for highlights.)
On to England, the dark horse in this tournament.
England started their World Cup campaign against France, and everyone was expecting a thrilling game, but England could not keep up with the French, and lost to them by one goal. Next up, England faced Mexico in a thrilling match. Both teams went at it with a do-or-die spirit to ensure they could qualify for the next round, but England won 2-1 in the end. The England vs Colombia game ended with the same score of 2-1.
England faced Norway in the round of 16 – a game I was waiting to watch. Norway opened score with Solveig Gulbrandsen’s goal in the 54th minute, but England got back to them in under 10 minutes with a goal from captain Steph Houghton. Lucy Bronze just about helped England along to a win with her goal in the 76th minute.
In the quarterfinals, England played the host country Canada in Vancouver. Playing the host team is never good, knowing that most of the crowd in the stadium is against you. But England boosted themselves with something unbelievable – from the minute they entered the field, they knew the game was theirs. In the 11th minute they scored their first goal, and less than 3 minutes later, they scored their second. England was there to win the game, and nothing else. In the 42nd minute, Canada got a penalty and their captain Christine Sinclair converted it into a goal. Early in the second half, English goalkeeper Karen Bardsley had to be substituted by Siobhan Chamberlain because of what looked like a swollen eye. Canada might have hoped for some luck at this point, but England finally won 2-1. (Highlights here.)
And finally, Japan – defending champions of the World Cup.
This World Cup, it didn’t feel like Japan had the best of starts. They weren’t playing like they were the champions of the 2011 World Cup. They won all their group games by one goal: 1-0 against Switzerland, 2-1 against Cameroon, and 1-0 against Ecuador. Considering Cameroon is ranked 53 and Ecuador 48 (both among the bottom three teams according to FIFA world rankings to have qualified for the 2015 World Cup), Japan’s performance against them was rather poor.
Things picked up when Japan met the Netherlands in the round of 16 – they were in the mood for some serious football, and scored two goals against a team that had never qualified for the Women’s World Cup before. Japan brought on some good passes and moves, and gave the Europeans a real taste of Asian football.
Japan had to face their rivals in Asia – Australia – to win a spot in the semi-finals. They’ve played numerous games against each other and most of the time it is Japan who makes it away with a win. This time too, Japan won against the Matildas with a solitary goal scored by their substitute Mana Iwabuchi in the dying minutes of the game. Earlier in the match, Japan had made several close attempts at scoring, but never seemed to get past the Aussies’ goalkeeper. But in the last 15 minutes, Japan showed that they could play a good game. (Watch the best bits here.)
So there you have it. These are the four teams that will play some amazing football in the semi-finals, and what exciting matches those will be! There have been some crazy moments so far – watching Brazil get kicked out by Australia was a real shock to me. But there have been amazing moments too – USA defender Julie Johnston has been playing some wonderful football. And I’ve been really happy with the referees too – apart from a few mistakes, they’ve largely been bang on with their decisions.
Going into the semi-finals and finals, rather than worrying about which team will win, I’m just looking forward to seeing some brilliant football with good goals and great passes!
Juhi Shah is an MBA graduate who is passionate about women’s football in India and around the world. She is a football player as well as a qualified referee. She hopes to help the Indian Women’s Football Team gain recognition and make a mark for itself in the global arena.