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Jun 27, 2023

Women's World Cup 2023: Instant Reactions to Quarterfinals Bracket After Round of 16

France advanced to the round of eight of the 2023 Women's World Cup Tuesday morning with a decisive 4-0 victory over Morocco, joining Colombia as the final two entries into the quarterfinal bracket.

France advanced to the round of eight of the 2023 Women's World Cup Tuesday morning with a decisive 4-0 victory over Morocco, joining Colombia as the final two entries into the quarterfinal bracket.

Le Bleues overwhelmed one of the tournament's great underdogs, beating the first time participants to cash it's ticket to the next round following an impressive start to the tournament.

Colombia vanquished the other underdog, sending Jamaica home following a hard-fought 1-0 match.

They join a talented field of competitors, all with the same goal: leave Australia and New Zealand with a World Cup title.

Quarterfinal Round Bracket (all times ET)

Spain vs. Netherlands (August 10, 9:00 p.m, FOX)

Japan vs. Sweden (August 11, 3:30 a.m., FOX)

Australia vs. France (August 12, 3:00 a.m., FOX)

England vs. Colombia (August 12, 6:30 a.m., FOX)

Japan has been utterly dominant in this World Cup, scoring 14 goals and conceding just one. They have outclassed all opposition and have oftentimes looked like an unbeatable squad ready to take their place at the top of women's world football.

Their explosive offense and suffocating counterattacks have made them the most complete team in the 2023 tournament.

Up next for the Nadeshiko is Sweden, itself an offensive juggernaut.

The Blågult have totaled nine goals across four matches and added five penalty kicks against the United States, sending the two-time defending champions out of the tournament in the round of 16.

Like Japan, the team has allowed a single goal.

Sweden has a bend, but don't break defensive philosophy, giving up 21 shots to the Americans while taking just seven of their own. They did not allow a goal, a testament to the stinginess of the squad.

That stinginess will be tested by Hinata Miyazawa, who leads all scorers in this World Cup with five goals and an assist. She is an elite offensive player and with Mina Tanaka, who has tallied two goals and three assists, hopes to lead Japan to the semifinals in what has become a revenge tour of sorts for the team.

In 2019, the Nadeshiko were eliminated from the tournament in the round of 16. This year represents an opportunity to make good on their potential and win a World Cup for the first time since 2011.

Sweden will look to Amanda Ilestedt (three goals), Sofia Jakobsson (two assists) and Fridolina Rolfo (two goals) to test the Japanese defense.

Four of the team's first seven goals came off of corner kicks, a setup that has proven potent.

Whose offense will be more dominant? Which defense will fold for the first time in this tournament?

They are questions that bear watching in what may very well prove to be the best match in the entire tournament, let alone the quarterfinals.

For the first time ever, Spain has advanced to the quarterfinals of the Women's World Cup and will look to build on its historic run with a victory over the Netherlands Thursday.

La Roja are ranked second offensively, scoring 13 goals while establishing themselves as one of the favorites to win the competition. They unleashed a barrage of shots on Switzerland in their previous match, tallying 22 in a 5-1 win.

That one goal against? An errant own goal.

Aitana Bonmati has been a revelation for the squad, accumulating three goals and two assists while Jennifer Hermoso, arguably the most proficient scorer on the team, has three of her own.

The team also has a confident coach in Jorge Vilda, who expressed his pleasure with his players. "We've shown you again that they all deserve to be in the starting lineup. I have the 23 best players in the world."

Spain has allowed four goals against by opposing teams, all of which came against the high-powered Japan squad. That may skew numbers a bit and definitely does not take into account a defense that did not allow another score, save for the aforementioned own goal against Switzerland.

The Netherlands has been an impressive in their unbeaten bid, too, including a 7-0 dismantling of Vietnam in the group stage. That dominant performance makes up a large number of the 11 goals the team has scored while a lone score against the United States is all that it has conceded.

That team makes up, arguably, Spain's toughest match to date.

Still, La Roja is a team that has made it look relatively easy to this point and barring a defensive letdown, should be considered the favorite to advance to its first World Cup semifinals in team history.