Quarterfinal Preview

by Billy Scott - Soccer.com

The group stage of the 2007 Women’s World Cup was exciting, unpredictable, and very, very wet. Typhoon Wipha put a damper on the beautiful soccer that many of the top teams play and turned several of the games into slogfests that were less than graceful, but the group stage still had much to brag about.

Many thought Group A would be the least competitive group in the tournament, and after Germany trounced Argentina 11-0 in the tournament’s opening game it appeared their predictions would come to pass. England had a few tricks up its sleeve, however, and, after tying a strong Japanese squad, pulled off one of the most surprising results of the group stage, holding Birgit Prinz and Germany scoreless in a 0-0 draw. England used that point and burst of momentum to coast past Argentina and into the quarterfinals.

Group A play saw strong performances from Kelly Smith, who punctuated several of her four goals by removing her boots and showering them with kisses, and Germans Renate Lingor and Sandra Smisek, who both tallied three times. The most impressive effort of the group, however, came from superstar Birgit Prinz, whose four first round goals shot her past Michelle Akers as the World Cup’s all time leading scorer.

Group B lived up to its "Group of Death" billing, providing some of the most exciting soccer of the first stage. No one knew what to expect from secretive North Korea, but they made a statement in their first game by playing the tournament favorite U.S. side to a 2-2 draw, outplaying the Americans for much of the match. Nigeria also had an impressive tournament. They did not advance, but their draw with Sweden, ranked third in the world, and 2-0 and 1-0 losses to the North Koreans and Americans, respectively, earned them the respect of many fans. Sweden was obviously hampered by injuries, but battled back to beat North Korea in the final game. Nevertheless, North Korea advanced to the quarterfinals on goal differential.

The final Group C game between Canada and Australia might have been the most exciting of the first round. Both teams beat Ghana handily, but the Matildas from down under earned a crucial point when they tied fourth ranked Norway 1-1. As a result, the Aussies only needed to tie the Canadians to advance. Christine Sinclair’s goal in the 85th minute, her third of the tournament, appeared to dash Australia’s hopes, but Cheryl Salisbury buried one in stoppage time to preserve the tie and send the Australians to the quarterfinals.

Brazil emerged from Group D as the only undefeated, untied team in the group stage after dominating New Zealand and China. Denmark the Brazilians in the final game, however, interrupting Brazil’s characteristically beautiful play and refusing to relinquish a goal until stoppage time. The host country received the expected support from their fans and, with the exception of the Brazil game, played a strong first round.

After such a great group stage, it would be easy for the quarterfinals to pale in comparison. Each of the games promises to be exciting, though, with Germany matched up against North Korea, Norway squaring off against China, England taking on the U.S., and Australia trying to tame Brazil.

Germany will have its hands full with North Korea, the team that proved its worth in the group stage. Nevertheless, the Germans simply have too much firepower in Prinz, Lingor and Smisek for the North Koreans to have a chance to take them out.

Australia looked very impressive in the group stages and reserve Lisa De Vanna is one of the best stories of the tournament thus far, scoring all three of her goals off the bench. But Brazil is still Brazil, and they still have Marta and Christiane. The Matildas’ speed should prevent this from being a blowout, but expect the Brazilians to win easily.

The Americans’ performance through the group stage was underwhelming at best. At times they had difficulty maintaining possession and building the attack out of the midfield, and with so many offensive threats they should have been able to score more than five goals. That being said, there is another level in them, and if they play to their potential the Americans should be very tough to beat. Abby Wambach has looked solid with three goals to her credit, but coach Greg Ryan’s decision not to substitute her out of the game against North Korea is the single biggest reason the U.S. did not finish the group stage at 3-0.

There have been bright sports for the Yanks, though. Despite letting a wet ball slip through her fingers against North Korea, Hope Solo has been outstanding in goal. She made many spectacular saves and kept the U.S. in the game when the other teams broke through the defense. Lori Chalupny’s play in midfield play has been remarkable as well. She drew the foul that led to the first goal against Sweden and tallied the game winner against Nigeria less than a minute into the match.

Chalupny and the rest of the midfield will benefit from the absence of Fara Williams, England’s star midfielder whose two yellow cards in the group stage will force her out of the quarterfinal game. Despite this disadvantage, England should still be competitive and stretch the Americans to their limit.

In the end, Germany, Norway, the U.S. and Brazil should make it to the semifinals, but as this World Cup has shown, anything can happen.

For more soccer news from around the globe visit Soccer365