The first two quarterfinals matchups from the 2023 Women's World Cup get underway with a pair of intriguing games from New Zealand.
In Wellington, it's an all-Europe affair as Spain takes on the Netherlands and, in Auckland, 2011 champions Japan meet a Sweden team coming off of the elimination of the defending champion United States.
If there was any doubt about the quality of La Roja following their 4-0 loss to Japan in their final group-stage match, they erased that in a hurry with their 5-1 thrashing of Switzerland in their Round of 16 tie.
Manager Jorge Vilda praised his team's tenacity over the 90 minutes.
"The team approached the game well," Vilda said. "We were very offensive and our football prevailed. What I liked the most about the team was our competitiveness – how we went into the duels and how we won the duels. We showed what we can do, even without being at our best level. We made history [by reaching the quarter-finals for the first time]. We proved we are a team of 23 players and we are very happy."
You can catch Spain vs. the Netherlands in final eight action from the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup in Wellington on Thursday with coverage getting underway at 8:45pm et/5:45pm pt on TSN4/5, streaming on the TSN App and on TSN.ca.
Barcelona star Aitana Bonmati says that while her team is blazing a trail for Spanish football on the world stage, they're still hungry for more.
"We’ve made history with our progress to the quarterfinals," Bonmati said. "We have to enjoy every moment to the max and also play to the max in every game, because you never know when it’s going to be your last one. We want to dream big and the goal is to go even further, so we have to stay focused."
Spain heads into their last-eight tie having scored 13 goals.
La Roja's opponents, the Netherlands, are coming off of a 2-0 victory over South Africa on goals from Manchester City midfielder Jill Roord, who now has four tournament goals, and Juventus forward Lineth Beerensteyn. The victory was not an easy one, though, with goalkeeper Daphne van Domselaar called into action on a number of occasions.
"It’s fantastic to have such a great goalkeeper behind you," forward Esmee Brugts said. “It gives you a lot of relief and confidence. She is so amazing. In the previous games, she didn’t have to do so much, but in this game she showed why she is so good. I’m very, very happy to be playing with her."
As for their opposition, Oranje manager Andries Jonker says he and his staff have pored over all available information about Spain.
“We know everything about them," Jonker said. "Scouting has done its job. My assistant coaches have done their job, I get information from my players. So my file on Spain is very big. We know everything about them. They are not going to surprise us with a player we have never heard of. That’s not going to happen. We do talk with the players who have played in Spain about it, about what they think, about the line-up, the way they play, what their specific skills are, but also what their weaknesses are that we can make use of."
Brugts says Spain is formidable opposition.
“They are a top-class opponent and we will analyze them and see what we can do," she said. "We know it's not going to be easy, but I think it's the same for every match where it's for us to keep the ball."
In terms of lineups, the Oranje will be without the services of Lyon midfielder Danielle van de Donk thanks to booking accumulation.
Spain and the Netherlands have met just once before in a friendly in 2021 where a goal from Barca's Patri Guijarro gave La Roja a 1-0 win.
The winner of the Spain-Netherlands match will meet the victor between Japan and Sweden in the semis.
Nadeshiko Japan are back in the quarters for a fourth time on the back of a comfortable 3-1 victory over Norway. Guro Reiten's 20th-minute marker was the first goal that Japan has conceded at this World Cup.
West Ham defender Risa Shimizu, who scored against Norway, says the win is helping to get the bad taste of Japan's Round of 16 exit against eventual finalists Netherlands in 2019 out of her mouth.
"There is still a long way to go, but after I felt frustrated in 2019, I feel like I've overcome an obstacle," Shimizu said. "We'll head to the next one, but I feel we got a really great victory today. The ball came into my path. I had a similar chance in the first half but I made a shot without controlling the ball. I was thinking I would do it more calmly next time, and I'm glad it went in. A lot of crosses were coming from the left flank, so I kept running forward thinking that one would come to me. Among us there were only positive words. Even when it became 1-1, no one has a negative mood. We could play in a very positive way."
You can catch Japan vs. Sweden in final eight action from the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup in Auckland on Friday with coverage getting underway at 3:15am et/12:15am pt on TSN1/4/5, streaming on the TSN App and on TSN.ca.
Sweden is back in the final eight for the seventh time in nine World Cups after edging the USWNT 0-0 (5-4 on penalties) with Arsenal forward Lina Hurtig scoring the decisive spot kick. That the match got through 120 minutes is largely due to the efforts of goalkeeper Zecira Musovic. The Chelsea 'keeper made a number of impressive saves over the course of the match, including two on Trinity Rodman alone in the first 10 minutes and a flurry in extra time.
"You can only love the feeling of when you're in the zone and stuff is happening in a way that you're just doing it," the 27-year-old Musovic said. "I had a really good feeling before the game. I know we were facing a really good opponent in the US, ranked No1 in the world. We had a good feeling in the squad, we know what we are capable of. It was the game style, just go out and do your best, have each other's backs and stay humble throughout the whole game."
In Japan, Sweden faces a familiar opponent. The two sides have met three times before at a World Cup with the most memorable encounter coming in a 2011 semi-final tie that Nadeshiko Japan won en route to claiming their first World Cup title. More recently, it was Sweden who defeated hosts Japan in the quarters of the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics.
"We know all about Japan after facing them in the Olympics," Sweden manager Peter Gerhardsson said. "And we like it when the other team sets the bar high – because it helps us give our best. Beating them in Tokyo was a great example. We're expecting another tough match – you have to beat the best if you want to progress."
Liverpool midfielder Fuka Nagano expects Sweden to offer a similar challenge to the one posed by fellow Scandinavians, Norway.
"Sweden, just like Norway, will use their height and physicality," Nagano said. "They also appear to be very dangerous from corners. Every player in the Swedish side is very tall. They also play with at a very high standard. I am sure that it will be a very tough game, but we are confident because we have prepared for this moment for a very long time. I know that if we all give it our very best, we will win. We want to carry on playing in this tournament, so we will give it our best shot."
Neither Japan nor Sweden enters the match with injury designations or players unavailable due to suspension.
