On July 30, Group H had its second round of matches with two shocks occurring when the teams that were considered “superior” suffered defeats. The Korean women’s team ranked 17th in the world and was considered much higher, but suffered a “bitter defeat” with a 0-1 defeat to Morocco - a team participating in the World Cup for the first time.
Notably, Morocco is the second-lowest ranked team at the 2023 Women's World Cup, just above the Zambian women's team. This historic victory not only helped Morocco create an earthquake in its first participation, but also brought the opportunity for this African representative to continue.
Immediately after the South Korean slip-up, world football continued to witness the "earthquake" that occurred at Sydney Football when the world's number 2 team Germany lost 1-2 to the Colombian women's team. Linda Lizeth Caicedo Alegria and Manuela Vanegas took turns shining to help Colombia make history as the first South American team to defeat the German women's team after 9 World Cups.
In the 11th minute, German striker Alexandra Popp (behind) received a pass from her teammate, jumped high and headed the ball into the net of Morocco, opening the score 1-0 for the match. Illustration photo: AFP/TTXVN
This victory also opens up a great opportunity for Colombia to be able to register their name in the round of 16 when they have 6 absolute points after two matches. As for Germany, this is their second defeat in the group stage in World Cup history, since losing 2-3 to the Swedish women's team at the 1995 Women's World Cup. Losing in this match, the German team still has a chance to continue. However, if they do not play well, coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg and his team are still at risk of being eliminated from the group stage for the first time.
In contrast to Germany, other teams that were considered to be the championship candidates, such as Japan, Spain and Sweden, have all qualified for the next round.
Japan and Spain have advanced to the next round, after convincing victories over the underdogs Costa Rica and Zambia in Group C. After two matches, Japan and Spain are both on 6 points, but the Asian representative is temporarily ranked 2nd due to an inferior goal difference (+7 compared to +8).
The final match between Japan and Spain will determine which team will win Group C. According to the bracket, the Group C winner will face Norway, while the runner-up will face Switzerland.
Switzerland and Norway have booked their place in the knockout stages after a dramatic final round of Group A matches. Switzerland finished the group stage unbeaten after a 0-0 draw with hosts New Zealand. The result put them on top of the group with five points. Meanwhile, Norway bounced back from two disappointing matches with a 6-0 thrashing of the Philippines. The win put them level on four points with New Zealand, but they qualified for the next round thanks to a better goal difference.
The fifth name to qualify for the knockout round is Sweden - a team that is proving to be too strong for the rest of Group G. After a hard-fought 2-1 win over South Africa, Sweden made an impressive comeback with a resounding 5-0 win over Italy to secure the first ticket of this group. This result will force Italy and South Africa to enter a "life-or-death" match to compete for the remaining ticket to the next round of Group G.
The "newcomer" teams participating in the 2023 Women's World Cup finals have tried their best, but have only been able to cause surprises and have not made a difference.
After 11 days of competition, 5/8 "newbie" teams, including the Vietnamese women's team, had to stop playing. The Republic of Ireland, Zambia, Vietnam, and Panama were eliminated from the tournament after only two matches without being able to gain any points. Meanwhile, the Philippine women's team created a shock with a historic victory over New Zealand. However, immediately after that, the team suffered a 0-6 defeat to Norway and had to stop.
Portugal, Morocco and Haiti still have a chance to get out of the group stage in their first time participating in the Women's World Cup, but the chances of all three teams are very slim.
Portugal had a historic victory after defeating the Vietnamese women's team. However, to be able to win a ticket to the next round, Portugal must beat the defending champion in the last round. As for Morocco, they created an earthquake with a 1-0 victory over South Korea, but in the last round they will have to face Colombia - the team that shocked by defeating Germany. Due to the low goal difference (-5), even if Morocco wins, it is not certain that they will win a ticket to the next round if Germany beats South Korea in the match at the same time.
The last name is Haiti. This team has no points and still has a chance, but only a miracle will help them continue. In Haiti's group, England is leading with 6 points (+2), while Denmark and China both have 3 points and a goal difference of 0. Therefore, to be able to pass the group stage, Haiti must win by 2 goals against Denmark, and at the same time wait for China to lose to England.
According to VNA/Tin Tuc Newspaper
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