WELLINGTON — Hinata Miyazawa scored her fifth goal of the tournament as Japan beat Norway 3-1 in a clash of former champions on Saturday to reach the quarterfinals of the Women's World Cup for the fourth time.
Japan have been on a mission to bury the memory of their disappointing exit at the last-16 stage in 2019 and move on to play the winner of Sunday's clash between holders the United States and Sweden.
Weston McKennie and Timothy Weah showed out during Juventus’ 3-1 preseason friendly victory vs. Real Madrid on Tuesday. McKennie was named man of the match while Weah scored his first Juventus goal, assisted by McKennie.
Let’s get straight to what you USMNT fans want to see and look at the McKennie assist to Weah.
With Juventus leading 1-0, McKennie made a darting run into the Madrid box and then put it on a plate for the wide open Weah.
PERTH — Debutants Morocco stunned Colombia 1-0 in their final group match in Perth on Thursday to reach the last 16 of the Women's World Cup at the first attempt along with their opponents.
The 72nd ranked Moroccans scored through Anissa Lahmari's toe-poke after a saved penalty at the end of the first half but their passage was only secured after South Korea held twice champions Germany to a 1-1 draw in the other Group H match.
Scoring with a volley from the top of the box straight off a corner kick is one of the game's most audacious tactics. It's pure poetry when it comes off (David Beckham to Paul Scholes, anyone?), but its execution requires pinpoint service and the perfect finish. The margin for error is minuscule, and if either the corner or volley isn't flawless, then you're simply hoping the shot flies into Row Z and you're not getting torn apart on a counter going the other way.
As a regular U.S. soccer fan, it’s typically my duty to disagree with polarizing FOX pundit Alexi Lalas. Unfortunately, that isn’t the case this Tuesday morning as the USWNT pathetically got a 0-0 draw vs. Portugal to finish second in Group E and advance to the Round of 16 of the Women’s World Cup.
There isn’t much to discuss about the USWNT’s draw. They were slapdash on the attack and lucky not to concede on defense. Portugal were inches away from sending the USWNT home but rattled the post late in the game.
An abysmally disjointed midfield and attacking performance almost knocked the USWNT out of the World Cup at the group stage early Tuesday morning. Defeat to Portugal wasn't even contemplated within the USA camp during the buildup to this one — the focus was instead on putting as many as possible past the tournament debutants — but as we entered second-half stoppage time at Eden Park in Auckland, the score remained 0-0.
BRISBANE - Nigeria advanced to the Women's World Cup knockout stages for the third time in their history after a 0-0 draw with Ireland in their final Group B match on Monday, with the African side finishing second in the group behind hosts Australia.
MELBOURNE - Hayley Raso scored a first half brace and Mary Fowler struck after the break as Australia crushed Canada 4-0 on Monday to storm into the last 16 of the Women's World Cup and send the Olympic champions spinning out of the tournament.
In front of a febrile crowd at Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, Raso struck in the ninth minute with a low, right-footed shot and doubled down in the 39th from a goalmouth scramble as unused captain Sam Kerr cheered by the touchline.
SYDNEY - Manuela Vanegas headed a stoppage-time winner to give Colombia a 2-1 upset victory over Germany just when the twice world champions thought they had saved a point in a thrilling Women's World Cup clash on Sunday.
The defender powered the ball home from a corner eight minutes after German striker Alexandra Popp had converted a penalty to cancel out a stunning strike from Colombian teenager Linda Caicedo at Sydney Football Stadium.
PERTH — Jamaica defender Allyson Swaby scored from a sharp header to steer her side to a 1-0 win against Panama in Perth on Saturday, keeping alive the Caribbean side's hopes of advancing to the last 16 of the Women's World Cup.
Panama, who have yet to open their account having lost earlier to Brazil 4-0, can't progress ahead of France and Jamaica who lead Group F with four points.
"I think there was some wastefulness in front of goal. I didn't think we were clinical," winning coach Lorne Donaldson told a press conference.