Monzanator

[hide] Knockout Stage August 5th - August 20th 2023 8 Nations, The Winners of each Quarterfinal will qualify for the Semifinals. Quarterfinals Date & Time (GMT +10-12) Nation 1 T1 T2 Nation 2 August 11th 2023, h. 13:00 Spain 2 1 Netherlands August 11th 2023, h. 19:30 Japan 3 1 Sweden August 12th 2023, h. 17:00 Australia 1 2 France August 12th 2023, h. 20:30 England 2 0 Colombia [/hide]

Japan looked like the best team so far but Spain's 70% possession will be a problem for anyone unless they can't score like they did vs Japan. It would be curious if we have a rematch in SF since I can't believe Spain would allow four goals on five shots again

Iga Świątek won the Warsaw 250 the previous weekend and Prague has had even more rain the following week so the second SF had to be finished on Monday before the final where lucky loser Nao Hibino beat Linda Noskova 6-4 6-1 which is quite a shocking result tbh. WTA 1000 in Montreal starts today, also the comeback of Caroline Wozniacki who drew Kimberley Birrell in R1. That's a soft draw as it gets but some of these Q placements in Main Draw have long been suspicious anyway

I have to say I was more impressed with South Africa among the minnows. And we'll see how Colombia does in R16. The decline of German women's football isn't anything new, they truly have no plan B if "give the ball to Popp" plan A doesn't work. USA was a bunch of old timers and ancient celebrity storylines. Excluding the amateurs from Vietnam they scored one goal in three games vs the "real" teams. And that was from a corner. The future looks shaky, the infusion of money into European clubs has dramatically closed the gap and basically USA should be left behind really soon if this World Cup doesn't serve as the official marker anyway.

It was a goal by literally 1 mm

Sweden win 5-4 in PSO! High drama as Naeher saved the game-winning kick but it crossed the line mid-air and VAR had to check it

have a goal ruled out for offside but then goalkeeper makes a horrendous error and lets the ball right through her hands for 2-0 Danielle van de Donk has been booked and will miss the QF vs Spain.

Roord scores an early goal for

Anna Kiełbasińska is officially out of the World Champs. You can also stick a fork in our women's 4x400 relay since Święty-Ersetic, Baumgart-Witan and Hołub-Kowalik ain't gonna be here either

Yeah, that would be a good guess. Miyazawa scores her 5th goal of the tournament and that should wrap it up. 3-1.

Spain won 5-1. Nice & easy. Meanwhile Japan leads Norway 2-1 after 58 mins.

Second goal from Bonmati and Spain have everything under control again. 3-1.

Spain back in front after 17 mins. Let's see if they can avoid more errors from here.

Spain scores an own goal from 40 meters out. Clown show has arrived...

vs has kicked off and Bonmati scores after just 5 mins.

Yeah, all the middle distance heats & SF will be run at funereal pace then before the usual mad dash with 200 meters to go

[hide] Knockout Stage August 5th - August 20th 2023 16 Nations, The Winners of each Round of 16 matches will qualify for the Quarterfinals. Round of 16 Date & Time (GMT +9:30-12) Nation 1 T1 T2 Nation 2 August 5th 2023, h. 17:00 Switzerland 0 2 Spain August 5th 2023, h. 20:00 Japan 3 0 Norway August 6th 2023, h. 12:00 Netherlands 3 1 South Africa August 6th 2023, h. 19:00 Sweden 1 0 United States August 7th 2023, h. 17:30 England 4 1 Nigeria August 7th 2023, h. 20:30 Australia 1 1 Denmark August 8th 2023, h. 18:00 Colombia 2 1 Jamaica August 8th 2023, h. 20:30 France 3 0 Morocco [/hide]

Obviously the local population in Niger won't suddenly get much richer or anything but the colonial sins ain't gonna be forgotten anytime soon either. I can only imagine how much France is hated in Western Africa & Sahel these days.

Yeah, the Conference League group stage is guaranteed for all teams that won in the 2nd round of Champions League qualifying.

Raków Częstochowa managed to beat Qarabach Agdam 3-2 and 1-1 on aggregate Next up is Aris Limassol.

@Grassmarket@hckošiceI'm not from Greece but obviously even I remember Gail Devers doing 100/60m dash & hurdles at the same championships

Van der Weken wins women's 100m gold, Forster with sliver and Lindner with bronze.

This should be the end of Marta and Pia Sundhage in international football. The game has passed them by for one reason or another.

@heywooduSome teams have improved compared to 15-20 years ago and that applies to the overall level but some teams that are powerhouses in the men's game are still lagging or have regressed. Spain & Portugal have improved but Brazil appears to be stalled and they need new stars. The entire South America is miles behind the men's quality so it's gonna be curious to see if Colombia can emerge as a serious global contender following this World Cup. Also I'm puzzled why Mexico hasn't played any role in women's football, they have been MIA since forever.