(BEIJING, August 11) — When the Olympic Women’s Football tournament resumes on August 12, the fight for a berth in the quarterfinals will become more intense since it is the last round of the group stage.
The two must-watch matches will be the ones between Germany and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) in group F, and between Sweden and Canada in group E.
Medal favorites Germany and Brazil top group F with four points after Saturday’s victories. While Brazil will face Nigeria in the last pool match, Germany will have to fight for survival with the DPRK, who earned three points after defeating Nigeria in its first match. The math of the situation is very simple: only the winner can control its own fate.
The last time Germany and the DPRK played each other was in the Women’s World Cup last year in China. Germany saw off the DPRK 3-0 in the quarterfinal and ultimately won the tournament.
In group E, host China and Canada lead the group with four points. China will meet underdog Argentina in the next match and will probably win and advance to the quarterfinals.
Canada will have a tough match against Sweden, the silver medalist at the 2003 World Cup. Sweden has three points after its emphatic win over Argentina on Saturday.
History is in favor of Sweden, who has won seven out of the eleven international A-level matches between the two teams. The two also met each other in the semifinal of the 2003 World Cup, with Sweden posting a 2-1 victory.
Norway, the leader in group G, is the only team that can relax. Victories in the first two games have ensured that Norway advances to the quarterfinals. In its next match against Japan, Norway can afford to rest its starting line-up, which is a luxury no other team can enjoy.
The United States, another team in group G and the gold medalist at Atlanta 1996 and Athens 2004, has to defeat New Zealand by a large margin to ensure it has a greater goal difference than Japan. The United States and New Zealand have met six times in international A-level matches. The United States has won five of them, scoring 27 goals while conceding only 2, so it should be able to soundly beat the Football Ferns.
Even if a team fails to be placed in the top two of its group, it can still make it to the quarterfinals. Unlike the Men’s Football tournament where only the top two in each group can advance, the two best third-placed women’s teams can also compete in the quarterfinals because the Olympic Women’s Football tournament only has 12 teams instead of the 16 in the men’s equivalent.