This week, we continue our review of the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup, wrapping up the Group Stage and how we did with our projections, and giving a brief prognosis of the Round of 16 matches, which start on Saturday August 5.

Women's World Cup Group Stage Review

This week, we briefly review the 8 groups in the 2023 Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, after two games have been played, (see last week's column analyzing each team's first two matches in Groups A-H: The Week in Women's Football: World Cup Groups review; Benfica enter Gotham partnership; NWSL check - Tribal Football). Related columns with results, rosters and key news for the teams including Groups A-D initial group results are: The Week in Women's Football: Review World Cup week I; chat with NZ star Rennie; Nigeria's 'blabbermouth'? - Tribal Football), and our four-part WWC preview over the past four weeks for:

Groups A and B ( The Week in Women's Football: World Cup Groups A & B preview; Calgary Foothills exclusive - Tribal Football;

Groups C and D: ( The Week in Women's Football: Kaylan Williams exclusive - a USA star playing for Dinamo Moscow - Tribal Football;

Groups E and F: ( The Week in Women's Football: World Cup Groups E & F preview; pressure on Marta - Tribal Football;

Groups G and H: ( www.tribalfootball.com/articles/the-week-in-women-s-football-world-cup-groups-a-b-preview-calgary-foothills-exclusive-4463860).

Group A

For the final Group A matches on July 30, Norway defeated Philippines 6-0 in Auckland's Eden Park to qualify for the next round with 4 points and put an utterly dreadful start to the 2023 WWC behind them, while Switzerland and New Zealand tied 0-0 before a capacity crowd of 25,947 in Dunedin, to give Switzerland the top spot in the group on 5 points. New Zealand finished in third with 4 points trailing Norway on goal differential (0 to +5) and thus became the first WWC host/co-host in history to not advance from the group stage. Philippines finished in fourth with three points.

Norway's Sophia Haug (24), who had 7 goals in 18 matches last season at Roma in Italy's Serie A, scored twice within 11 minutes and her second goal in the 17th minute essentially killed off the game. She scored a third goal in the 95th minute and Philippines contributed an own goal as well.

New Zealand helped to kick off the tournament in fine style with a well earned 1-0 win over Norway, when they out shown the 1995 WWC Champions throughout most of the match. Probably they can find a better coach than Jitka Klimkova—which we discussed in last week's column—though she is midway through a six year contract (Really—six years?). New Zealand must continue their youth development (with the primary example being the successful 2018 U-17 WWC third place side in Uruguay, which contributed members to the 2023 full side) and exploring a few good diaspora to add (like Indiah Paige Riley from Australia) should help the side improve, as well as staging more games at home. New Zealand's Football Federation needs to view the women's team as a long term project, but they have to be consistent in their funding, program management and schedule challenging games regularly for all of their women's national teams.

For the Philippines, their historic win over New Zealand cost the Football Ferns a berth in the next round and they should be proud of their efforts, in spite of the heavy defeat in the last game against Norway, which the Scandinavians needed to win and also felt pressure to build up a strong goal differential with the Switzerland-New Zealand game going on at the same time. Hopefully we will see a few more players raised in the nation in future teams as they develop their youth programs but, in the interim, they should continue to keep on building around diaspora as they have for the past two WWC cycles and keep Alen Stajcic as head coach if they can, because he was absolutely a difference maker for this team to help them be competitive.

Prognosis versus Actual group results

Before the tournament, in our previews beginning a month before the tournament, we predicted Norway would finish first and the Philippines second over third place Switzerland. Switzerland surprised many by winning the group and Norway came out of a horrendous slump in the nick of time. We thought previously that Norway has the talent to make the semifinals, but with their start, a quarterfinal finish would be a palatable result. Switzerland has sort of ridden under the radar and could make the quarterfinals as well.

Group B

On July 31, Australia emphatically won their group with a 4-0 win over Canada, who only needed a tie to advance. Haley Raso, who is moving from Manchester City to Real Madrid for the 2023-24 season, scored twice in the first half to power Australia into the knockout stage for the fifth consecutive tournament. They also avoided becoming the second host/co-host to not advance from the tournament, as New Zealand did the night before. Even better for Australia is that Sam Kerr, who said that she could play, was able to rest on the bench and she should be a huge asset for the knockout matches. Canada became the first Olympic Games champion to be eliminated in the next Women's World Cup.

This game brought me back to the last time these two teams met in the third game of the first round of a Women's World Cup, in 2007 in Chengdu, in Western China, which this reporter covered. The game was delayed for a day due to a Typhoon on short notice as FIFA was attempting to keep the final group games starting at the same time on the same day. Australia fought back to tie Canada on a goal late in second half injury to send the heavily favored Maple Leafs out of the tournament—after they had finished fourth in 2003—and give the Matildas their first knockout berth ever. The Canadian players were crushed and this was a much different time in terms of how the teams played—then both were much more direct in their attacks with far less ball control than we see from them today. Sophie Schmidt and Christine Sinclair both were members of that Canadian team.

After the 4-0 loss, Christine Sinclair sent a message to the Canadian Soccer Association: "Look we've been battling our federation for support but I can't put this on [loss on Canada Soccer]. There's 23 players out there and staff and we didn't get it done tonight. I think more of it is like a wake-up call for our federation—the lack of a professional league [set to launch in 2025 but as an independent effort separate from the CSA], the lack of support for our youth national teams. I think you're just going to continue to see [other national] teams reach our level, surpass us, whatever you want to call it if things don't change."

Sinclair then discussed the match but came back to the tremendous improvement in the national teams from around the world at this tournament: "With the home fans, we knew they'd get momentum, energy from that. They scored in the (ninth) minute and we weren't able to recover from that. [After Colombia defeated favored Germany 2-1 earlier that day], teams came ready…It happens. It's exciting for the sport. The catchers are catching up."

A few hours after the game, the CSA sent out a press release with little about the game but touting the qualifying play-in series versus Jamaica for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games Finals, set for September 22 in Jamaica or the U.S. and then in Toronto on September 26. Head coach Bev Priestman was quoted in the release: "I think the team has to believe. They are committed, they are the most hard-working group, they are the most together group, we just at times need more belief. Once we realise that, this moment can make this team because in a year's time we could have an Olympic Games." With Jamaica qualifying for the knockout stage (see below) and knocking out Brazil in the process, while Canada didn't move on, the two match series in two months should be very interesting.

After the game Priestman talked about the Olympic Games qualifying series vis-à-vis her squad: "I'd love for those players [Sinclair and Schmidt] to be part of our Olympic qualifying … I think Canada deserves, they deserve to get this team to the Olympics on home soil [versus Jamaica], That's what I'll be pushing them. The whole conversation I had with every veteran was how crucial September was… I'm obviously still processing [this game] even here. [That] you say 'Could this be Christine Sinclair's last game' breaks my heart." Sophie Schmidt was so discouraged by the conflict with the CSA earlier this year—that included a one-day player strike just before the start of the SheBelieves Cup tournament in the U.S.—that she considered retiring before the WWC, so it may be an uphill battle to convince her to stay involved with the nats for another few months.

What now for Canada? Bev Priestman is a special coach and should be retained. We hope this is not a sign of a depressed extended period for the Canadian women's team, particularly with the well documented financial struggles of their Association and that they look likely to have to cut back on their national team investments across the board.

In the other match, Nigeria confirmed their second consecutive and third overall knockout stage berth in nine tournaments with a 0-0 tie against the Republic of Ireland, who earned their first point in their debut Finals. Nigeria did not seem as crisp as in previous games but only needed a tie to advance. The Irish led in possession (51% vs. 40%) but Nigeria had the advantage in shots (10 vs 4) but were even on shots on goal (1 vs. 1) and had a slight lead for corners (3 vs. 2). Nigeria's head coach Randy Waldrum and his team continue on and were well deserving of advancing, as they are the only undefeated team in the group and join Switzerland, Japan, England, the U.S., Netherlands, France, Jamaica and Sweden to advance without a loss in the group stage.

There seemed to be some discussion between Irish team captain Katie McCabe and the coaching staff (well, Vera Pauw) over the need for substitutes, as she didn't make any until the 83rd minute against Nigeria, while in the Canada match she used five by the 65th minute mark and two in the 62nd minute in the first game against Australia. Pauw said that McCabe wanted a specific change—taking out Sinead Farrelly—that Pauw didn't accept: "Why would we change? If Katie McCabe says that she wants a change that doesn't mean... She's not the coach, eh? Everybody was doing so well. I said 'What do you want Katie, take our best player off?' We made the changes when they were necessary." RTE of Ireland described this WWC journey for the Irish as: "relentlessly intense," beginning with the abandoned friendly with Colombia (see: The Week in Women's Football: Review World Cup week I; chat with NZ star Rennie; Nigeria's 'blabbermouth'? - Tribal Football).

That comes down to Pauw and she seems to keep emphasizing that she is the head coach, even when asked if she would return home for a celebration of their first WWC: "I don't feel this is my last game because we've gone home from a World Cup. Why would I not be at the homecoming? I go back with my team. Otherwise, I would have stayed in Australia enjoying the tournament."

She has been politicking for months to stay on as her contact ends later this summer; please, IFA, put an end to this drama. Vera Pauw can be so confrontational and now is considering legal action against the NWSL for her suspension for alleged emotional abuse and control of players in Houston—with the caveat that she is the real victim here—the FAI should just move on and it is better to look elsewhere for a new coach. I think Pauw has good development ideas, which she shared with this writer a few years ago, but it's always drama of some sort with her. She took the Irish to the promised land of the World Cup Finals in an historic year and they were competitive; she has the country's gratitude, but the Irish, of all people, don't need the continual drama that she tends to bring. As Passenger sang in their hit a decade ago: "Let her go."

Most of the Republic's players are playing in England which is great. The Republic of Ireland should view this first World/European final as a success, allowing only three goals and taking one point off of Nigeria. Ireland was the first team eliminated (but at least it wasn't New Zealand, which would have likely damaged attendance for their third game). They need an experienced coach who can build on this success and help to attract more women footballers at the youth level, who traditional play Gaelic Football at the local level and have professional options in Australia in the Aussie Rules game. A new coach needs to find more attacking strength—Marissa Sheva of D.C., who Pauw seemed so enamored with, was not even close to being a scoring solution and gave away the penalty that Australia scored from in the first game. Whether Ireland find this need at home or through their considerable diaspora, it is a priority in order to achieve the Finals of the next EUROs or WWC.

Prognosis versus Actual group results

We had picked Australia to win the group and make the semifinals, with Canada second, but Nigeria was well-placed if the Maple Leafs tripped up, which is what happened, though we didn't expect the Matildas to enter the last game in third and needing a win to advance, but it was a fantastic day for a capacity crowd of 27,706 in Melbourne's Rectangular Stadium. We thought that the Matildas could make the semifinals and they are still on track to do that. Nigeria could make the quarterfinals as the team has been magical and it is wonderful to see Randy Waldrum happy at the end of games, after all he has endured from the Nigerian Football Federation during his tenure.

Group C

After two group games on July 26, Spain and Japan became the first two teams in the Finals to qualify for the knockout stages. On July 31, Japan won a match between the top two with a surprising 4-0 win over favored Spain, which should send a message to all of their group stage opponents that the Nadeshiko are on a roll and who have jumped into the list of favorites to win the title, along with the U.S., England, Spain and Australia (with Brazil, Canada and Germany failing to make the next round—see below). Japan was 3-0 up at halftime with two goals by midfielder Hinata Miyazawa (23), who plays at Mynavi Sendai. Miyazawa also had an assist and leads the tournament with four goals in total, tied with Alexandra Popp of Germany. Spain kept possession of the ball as usual but Japan used their speed in attack to pull the Spanish defense apart at times. Spain had only needed a tie to top the group. Japan has scored 11 goals—the most of the 32 teams—and two more than the next highest scoring teams as Netherlands and Sweden have nine goals each. Japan is also one of three teams yet to concede a goal, along with Switzerland and Jamaica.

In the round of 16, Spain now has to play group A winners Switzerland in a traditionally more difficult path in the knockout stage, while Japan faces group A runners-up Norway.

In the battle for third place, Zambia defeated Costa Rica 3-1, with goals from defender Lushomo Mweemba (22) of Green Buffaloes, Barbra Banda (23) of Shanghai Shengli from the penalty spot—the 1,000th goal in Women's World Cup history—and Racheal Kundananji (23), who scored 25 goals this past season with Madrid CFF and is a prime target for the NWSL to bring in after the WWC. We knew that Zambia would score in this tournament and the team is talented and made the 2021 Olympic Games Finals and the 2023 WWC back-to-back. The Copper Queens thus became the fourth nation to post a win in their first Finals, along with Morocco (with two), Portugal and Philippines among the eight debutants—with Republic of Ireland recording a tie and Haiti, Panama and Vietnam all going home with three losses (Panama did score three goals) but the latter three gained some good experience to build on.

Zambia's FA should move on from Bruce Mwape with his sexual abuse pending charges and try to get more of their younger players to clubs abroad but, in spite of two consecutive 5-0 losses in their first two matches to two very good teams in Japan and Spain, there is much to build on here.

Costa Rica, who finished with 0 points, is definitely in the top tier in CONCACAF but needs to maybe bring in a new coach since Amelia Valverde has been in charge since before the 2015 WWC, to add a new approach and ideas. They also need to continue to move players abroad, with Mexico's Liga MX Femenil utilizing some of their players, and is a logical first destination for them.

Prognosis versus Actual group results

We picked Spain and Japan to advance before the tournament (just the reverse of what happened), with the former going on to the semifinals and even the Final and Japan to the quarterfinals, though Japan has been in brilliant form and, if they keep up their effective style of play, they look like they could also make the semifinals or even the final.

Group D

England qualified after two games and finished with three wins, along with Japan and Sweden. The Three Lionesses dispatched China 6-1 on August 1, with a brace from new star Lauren James of Chelsea, who has three goals in her last two matches. James also laid on two assists in the win.

Denmark defeated Haiti 2-0, with the last goal coming in the 100th minute. Pernille Harder scored the first goal, which was the 100th goal of the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup. Haiti outshot the Danes (11 vs. 9), had more crosses (27 vs. 24) and corner kicks (7 vs. 5), but Denmark had more shots on target (6 vs. 3).

Denmark finished second on six points, China had three points and Haiti goes home with 0 points with 0 goals scored but only allowed four goals allowed in their three matches and played with distinction.

Haiti really did a nice job with so much against them at home with their federation and general turmoil in the country. Haiti needs to stay active and continue to meld players with clubs abroad, youngsters at home and their diaspora.

China, was a bit of a puzzler; they are not yet at the European level of play but need to continue their efforts, but overall, more was expected of the reigning Asian champions.

Prognosis versus Actual group results

I picked England to advance and maybe make the final with Denmark second, just ahead of China, but we did say that people should watch Haiti, who played well overall, but their second match loss against ten men China (for an hour) took the wind out of their sails.

Group E

In the final Group E matches on August 1, the U.S. narrowly squeaked into the Round of 16, as a last minute shot by Ana Capeta (25) of Sporting Lisbon went past American goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher but rebounded off of the near post or likely we would have seen the debutants from UEFA advancing and the Americans flying home. To say that there is angst and concern in the U.S. and the press in New Zealand and Australia would be an understatement, particularly from a general media that doesn't understand the sport, for whom the game was the equivalent of Armageddon. I was on a media call with a television sports anchor from a major market with a WWC Finals player who couldn't ask any game or tactical questions; he asked what the player's family thought about her being on the team—twice, five minutes apart. (Of course, for his newscast, he cobbled together statements from the other few media members questions on the call. It was stunning.) I think the U.S. has been in second gear at times during the first two games and they are still trying to integrate first-time finals players in with their veterans. The last time that the U.S. did not win their first round group was in 2011 in Germany—losing to Sweden 2-1.

They ended up finishing second to Japan on penalty kicks in the final. Another whammy for the U.S. viewing audience is that, if they had finished first, they would play on a national television network (Fox) on Saturday night at 10 pm East Coast time and 7 pm West Coast time. However, now they will play at 5 pm eastern time and 2 am on the west coast so FOX now has to show the Netherlands and South Africa in that prime spot—which I actually think will be an entertaining game to watch. U.S. head coach Vlatko Andonovski is really under intense pressure for his use (or non-use) of substitutes and the general lack of attack that his team has shown. I have known Vlatko since the early years of the NWSL and he is a tremendous person and coach, but if he doesn't win the title, he is definitely gone. If they win, is he safe—probably. They finished with the Bronze Medal at the Olympic Games Finals and that was perceived poorly by many.

Rose Lavelle received her second yellow card of the group stage against Portugal and will miss the Round of 16 match. The Americans need a spark and have the talented players to provide it to help them get on a run. Don't count out Megan Rapinoe being that player, despite limited minutes (56 minutes as a second half substitute against Vietnam and Portugal combined; she did not see any action against the Netherlands).

In the other match, the Netherlands blasted Vietnam 7-0, with braces from both Jill Roord (26), who is joining Manchester City after two seasons at Wolfsburg in Germany, and Esmee Brugts (20) of PSV Eindhoven. The Dutch led 5-0 at the half and the match attracted only 8,215 in Dunedin, far below the crowd of 42,958 in Eden Park in Auckland for the U.S. versus Portugal. The Netherlands won the group with 7 points, with the U.S. second on 5 points, Portugal third with 4 points and Vietnam fourth with 0 points.

Portugal came so close to springing one of the biggest upsets in the history of the WWC against the Americans. With four points, they had more points than any other debutant, except for Morocco, who finished with six points. The Portuguese side are definitely a force to watch in Europe and their league continues to develop more youth players while also attracting more top talent from around the world, including WWC Finalists Canada and Vietnam.

Vietnam lost heavily in their last game but their 3-0 and 2-0 defeats to the Americans and Portugal are more of a true reflection of their efforts and, as we said last week, they are doing the right things at the federation level; they need to just continue with their plans and try to send more players abroad (their only one on the team was captain Huhyn Nhu, who is 31, and played well in Portugal last season).

Prognosis versus Actual group results

I felt that the U.S., could make the semifinals, but that England, Australia or possibly Spain would derail them at that point (I included Brazil but they are out). They have to now play old nemesis Sweden in the Round of 16. The Americans were so close to being eliminated, saved by a goalpost, and with powerhouses Brazil, Canada and Germany all eliminated (see below), if they don't embrace their luck, they could be joining them shortly. Most followers don't see them as a legitimate threat any more. I thought Netherlands would also advance and, even without Arsenal striker Viv Miedema, they still look likely to make the quarterfinals and possibly the semifinals. Forward Esmee Brugts (20) has been a revelation for the Dutch.

Group F

On August 2, Jamaica tied Brazil 0-0, which gave the Reggae Girlz a berth in the knockout stage—the first team ever from the Caribbean and only the third CONCACAF team besides the U.S. and Canada to get that far—and sent Brazil crashing out of the tournament, only the third time in history that the 2007 WWC Runners-up missed the knockout phase (during the first two tournaments in 1991, 1995 and now in 2023). Brazil's Marta, who was on her sixth World Cup team and had said that this would be her last tournament, said after the game: "Not even in my worst nightmares was it the World Cup I dreamed of… I am grateful for the opportunity to have one more World Cup and very happy with what is happening with women's football in the world."

Marta was a class act as always and embraced Khadija Shaw, who had always idolized the Brazilian superstar, after the game. Marta did not score in this tournament but is still the all-time WWC Finals leading scorer with 17 goals. She first came on the scene during the 2022 U-19 FIFA WWC [now U-20] in Canada, which most viewed as a minor tournament and a hangover event after the 2022 men's World Cup in Japan/Korea Republic earlier that summer. I followed the tournament as I wrote for a Canadian soccer media outlet at the time and the tournament was outstanding and Marta scored 6 goals—she was 16 at the time—behind Christine Sinclair's 11 goals; Brazil finished fourth after losing the semifinal to Canada and third place match to Germany (both 1-1 on penalties), and almost 50,000 attended the Final in Edmonton, between the U.S. and Canada, which the U.S. triumphing.

Jamaica (5 points) finished second to France (7 points), with both undefeated, while Brazil had 4 points and Panama finished with no points. Jamaica is one of only three teams to not allow a goal during the group games—goalkeeper Rebecca Spencer (32) of Tottenham Hotspur in the WSL has the three clean sheets and has been outstanding—along with Japan and Switzerland. Jamaica has been known for their attacking play led by WSL star Khadija Shaw but their overall play in the tournament has been tremendous.

Coach Lorne Donaldson, a native of Jamaica who has coached in Colorado in the States for decades, said after the game: "This is one of the best days I've ever had in my life. To see a country like Jamaica be able to do this, it's unbelievable. The girls are doing it for the country, the country should be proud. We had resilience, fight. We are going into a war and we need to be ready. And it was a war, and we stayed in the battle."

In the other match in the group between France and Panama, Marta Cox (Pachuca of Mexico) gave Panama a second minute lead on a bending, wonder goal from about 30 yards. Kadidiatou Diani of Paris St. Germain led France's fight back, scoring a hat trick, with two coming from the penalty spot in a 6-3 win.

For Brazil, there will be some real thought given into where the national team goes from here. Pia Sundhage brought in a more defensive structure while not diminishing the creative play of the team, which we particularly saw in their first game win over Panama 4-0. Sundhage undoubtedly won't stay/be retained, but with the Brazilian league building nicely and so many players abroad (with 7 in the NWSL), a long-term, focused plan needs to be applied, since being dominant in South America has not transferred to success at the global level—they have not made the quarterfinals since 2011 in Germany.

Panama has a few players in the shop window and should be encouraged overall with their effort, particularly with scoring three times against France.

Prognosis versus Actual group results

We thought that both Brazil and France would make at least the semifinals so we got Brazil quite wrong, but we did say that Jamaica would improve over their initial tournament in 2019 and they certainly did, with 5 points compared with zero points in 2019; knocking out Brazil in the crucial last game was one of the highlights of the tournament.

Group G

Sweden qualified after two games, following a difficult 2-1 win over South Africa and a much easier 5-0 defeat of Italy.

As we saw in Group F, South Africa, in their second consecutive WWC as Jamaica did with both making their debuts in 2019, used a Thembi Kgatlana goal in the 92 minute to give South Africa a 3-2 win over Italy and a Round of 16 berth. Kgatlana had assisted Hildah Magaia in the 67th minute to give Banyana Banyana a 2-1 lead. Arianna Caruso scored her second goal of the game for Italy seven minutes later. Magaia had the assist on Kgatlana's winning goal. Desiree Ellis should be a candidate for the end of year FIFA Coach of the Year award for this effort, particularly after her national team players refused to play in their last friendly at home against Botswana in a dispute with the South African Football Federation, who really came out of the situation looking disorganized and short-sided, particularly now since their team is "Glory Bound" [to quote the rock band The Grass Roots] to the Round of 16. Ellis had her team go on the attack more in the second half after a 1-1 deadlock at the break.

Sweden won the group with 9 points by defeating Argentina 2-0, with both goals coming in the last 25 minutes. South Africa had 4 points, Italy finished with 3 points and Argentina had 1 point.

Italy's Serie A has become a top destination for players from around the league but they have to prioritize promoting native youth players and adding resources to their youth teams to help their full national team to do better in future tournaments.

Many will remember this tournament as a downer for Argentina as they earned only one tie, compared to two in 2019. Their stated goals in 2023 were to earn their first win and make the playoff stage. I thought they played pretty well—grant it they were sleepwalking for most of the game against South Africa until Sophia Braun's goal lit a fire to inspire the team to rescue the points—as they played Italy tough and lost only in the last few minutes. A 2-0 loss to Sweden is a solid result, as Sweden has improved as the tournament went on. I think Argentina was unlucky and could have come out of the group with 4 points and then would have advanced. They have a number of players abroad and their league has been improving; they are certainly one of the top three sides in CONMEBOL and this is not the time to panic.

Prognosis versus Actual group results

In our previews, we thought only one European team would go through, projecting that it would be Sweden but no further than the quarterfinals, joined by Argentina, with Italy third and too unpredictable. Italy certainly was that but South Africa did better than we thought and could be a really difficult proposition for their opponents as they go to the playoff rounds, with a tremendous amount of confidence and belief.

Group H

Group H finished the Group Stage on August 3 with another huge surprise as Germany tied with Korea Republic 1-1 which, combined with Morocco's 1-0 win over Colombia, sent Germany tumbling out of the tournament; they failed to make the knockout round for the first time ever—in eight previous tournaments they won two titles (2003 and 2007) were runners-up in 1995 and also had two fourth place finishes. In a two week period of upsets in Australia and New Zealand, this is probably numero uno.

Morocco used a goal just before halftime as Anissa Lahmari (26) of Guingamp of France followed up to score after captain Ghizlane Chebbak's (32—ASFAR) penalty kick was well saved by Catalina Perez (28), who plays with Kindermann-Avai in Cacador, Santa Catarina in southeastern Brazil, after time with Real Betis in Spain and Napoli and Fiorentina in Italy.

There was a gap of a few minutes between the end of the Morocco-Colombia match and Germany versus Korea Republic, if Germany had scored a second goal in the 15 minutes total of second half injury time, they would have won the group with Colombia second and Morocco out. The 2 minute 30 seconds link below is courtesy of Fox Sports, who provided the video and commentary from Morocco radio, as the players listened to the end of the Germany game (https://twitter.com/FOXSoccer/status/1687082000757518336?s=20). It is classic and one of my best memories of any World Cup—the players reactions are incredible and head coach Reynald Pedros (in the beard) is overcome with tears and is clearly trying to take it all in. This is a tremendous achievement for not onlyMorocco but the entire Arab world, as this team becomes the model for young girls to convince their families and societies that it is okay to play the sport.

In the 2019 World Cup qualifying cycle in Asia, our hopes were on Jordan, but Morocco has rocketed past them. In 2020, the Royal Moroccan Football Federation set a four-year plan for investing in the women's games, including youth development and the professional clubs, as they had not qualified for the AFCON finals for two decades. They were superb hosts in 2022 and were named to host the 2024 tournament as well. ASFAR are the reigning African Women's Champions League. Could anyone have dreamed a week ago that they would make the Round of 16 in their first Women's World Cup—remember, they lost their opening game 6-0 to Germany and then won two, to ultimately contribute to Germany going home. The players and staff of Morocco believed. Next they play France, with their long political, cultural and economic history as a backdrop and the home to coach Pedros and some of the players. This will be must-see TV.

Morocco bid on a number of men's World Cups in the past, even losing narrowly to the U.S. for the 1994 World Cup hosting rights. Based on their men's performance in Qatar and their bid for the 2030 men's World Cup with Portugal and Spain, if selected they would be wonderful hosts. How about consideration for Morocco for a future Women's World Cup? Again, it would be a wonderful advertisement for women's football and based on the attendances at last year's WAFCON, we wouldn't have the continuing concerns on the attendance front that we have seen in New Zealand. In addition, Morocco is a top tourist site internationally and easy to get to for European fans as well as those from the Arab World and Africa.

After their win over South Korea on July 30, Pedros said: "Those that love football have male role models. What we want in Morocco is that those that love football have female role models as well." He also sees more players feeding into the national team from the U-20 and U-17 national teams in the immediate future.

For Korea Republic, their 1-1 tie against Germany in their last game salvaged their tournament. Head coach Colin Bell had his contract extended recently by the Korean Federation for one year, for the Olympic Qualifiers and Finals. He has worked in Germany and has family there—could he be a candidate to coach Germany next? Their current head coach, Martina Voss-Tecklenburg, guided Germany to the EURO Final last summer, but I don't see her surviving into a sixth season, given the inquest that is already beginning after her side's shocking failure to advance. She did coach Switzerland's national team for seven years and took them to the 2015 Finals in Canada and the Round of 16 in their debut finals. There will be other European teams developing their national team programs that she could be a nice fit for, but I think her time as German coach is finished.

Prognosis versus Actual group results

We picked Germany and Morocco to advance but, Colombia goes on with Morocco.

Round of 16 Matches and Prognosis

UEFA has half of the Round of 16 teams (8), while CAF in Africa has three, two each come from AFC in Asia and CONCACAF and one is from CONMEBOL.

Saturday August 5

Switzerland vs. Spain

This battle will set Switzerland's strong defense against Spain's fluid play and creative attacks. I think Spain will advance to the quarterfinals.

Japan vs. Norway

Japan was impressive in defeating Spain 4-0 in their last group game. Most will pick Japan but I think Norway is finally out of its blue funk and will win, even if it has to go to penalties to do it.

Sunday August 6

Netherlands vs. South Africa

In one of three matches between European sides and their former colonies, the Netherlands' attack should be too much for South Africa, who still have had a wonderful tournament.

Sweden vs. USA

These two teams have met on nine previous occasions in the Women's World Cup and Olympics and this will be their second knockout match, with Sweden moving on via penalties in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic games quarterfinal. The USA leads the all-time series, which dates back to 1987, with an overall record of 23-12-7 (W-D-L), though in the last 10 matches the USA is 4-4-2. These two teams always battle but Sweden has improved during the tournament while the U.S. seems to struggle in open play. I think that we will see another favorite join Brazil, Canada and Germany in booking early flights home.

Monday August 7

England vs. Nigeria

In another match involving an African nation with history with their European nation opponent, England should put an end to Nigeria's magical run, though Nigeria's chances for an upset increase the longer they can keep it deadlocked or even grab a lead. England struggled against Haiti in the first game of the tournament and Nigeria presents similar attacking and defending problems to solve. We pick the 2021 EURO Champions to advance, but would not be surprised if Nigeria is able to spring an upset.

Australia vs. Denmark

The crucial third game win over Canada showed how valuable the home crowd is to the Matildas, who should advance easily. The big question is when Sam Kerr will play and for how long in her return from injury.

Tuesday August 8

Colombia vs. Jamaica

This is an intriguing matchup between a CONMEBOL and CONCACAF side. I think this will be a tremendous attacking match and Jamaica head coach Lorne Donaldson should have a strategy in mind to frustrate Colombia, as Morocco did (see above). We pick the Reggae Girlz to make more history and move on to the quarterfinals.

France vs. Morocco

Another match for a third African side with so much history between the nations, plus Morocco's head coach and some players are playing their homeland. We have been believers in Morocco since watching all of their games last year in the Women's African Cup of Nations and we are continuing to back the Atlas Lionesses as we think another pre-tournament favorite will go home.

We think UEFA could end up with as many as five quarterfinalists, with one from Asia, one from CONCACAF and one from Africa: Spain, Norway, Sweden, Netherlands, England, Australia, Jamaica and Morocco.

Tim Grainey is a contributor to Tribal Football. His latest book Beyond Bend it Like Beckham on the global game of women's football. Get yours copy today.

Follow Tim on Twitter: @TimGrainey