Well, the group stage is finally complete and it's time for the knockout stage to begin. There have been quite a lot of surprises in this tournament already.
Group A: New Zealand became the first host nation (co-host, in this case) to not advance beyond the group stage, former champion Norway almost got eliminated before making a major comeback in their third match, and Switzerland won their group for the first time.
Group B: Canada became the first defending Olympic champion to not advance beyond the group stage, with Nigeria performing quite well in this group, and Australia was able to move on thanks to their win against Canada.
Group C: Japan dominated this group, Spain comfortably advanced as the runner up, and first time and lowest ranked team Zambia managed to win a match on their way out.
Group D: England dominated this group, Denmark advanced from the group stage for the first time since 1995, and China was eliminated in the group stage for the first time ever.
Group E: While Netherlands did well in this group, the real shocker was how poorly the United States did in this group with ties against Netherlands and Portugal (and would have even been eliminated by Portugal if not for a late goal attempt being deflected by a post), making this only the second time the United States failed to win their group and advancing with the fewest points ever.
Group F: Although France won this group, Brazil was shockingly eliminated in the group stage for the first time since 1995, with the runner up being Jamaica who did not concede any goals and became the first Caribbean nation to ever advance to the knockout stage.
Group G: Sweden dominated this group, Italy was shockingly eliminated in the group stage for only the second time ever (thanks in part to the most unforced own goal I've ever seen), allowing South Africa to advance to the knockout stage for the first time ever.
Group H: By far the biggest upset of the entire tournament thus far was Germany failing to reach the knockout stage for the first time ever, which allowed Colombia to win the group, while Morocco's first appearance in a Women's World Cup (also the first Arab nation to reach the Women's World Cup) is now also advancing to the knockout stage.
And with all of that out of the way, here are the teams that'll be playing in the Round of 16 (I'll edit this post as the results come in).
Switzerland vs Spain 1 - 5
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATE57W4e-uUNetherlands vs South Africa 2 - 0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VBvR24Z3ikJapan vs Norway 3 - 1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7kgElV2phUSweden vs United States 0 - 0 (penalty kicks: 5 - 4)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avuLrkOiFY4Australia vs Denmark 2 - 0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dj5N7bqyqVUFrance vs Morocco 4 - 0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQscbohBCbUEngland vs Nigeria 0 - 0 (penalty kicks: 4 - 2)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUb7ogKsK6QColombia vs Jamaica 1 - 0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sU5ov0fxcVIBefore these games occur, here's what I think will be the winners for each of the remaining matches:
Round of 16:
Spain
Netherlands
Japan
Untied States
Australia
France
England
Colombia
Quarterfinals:
Netherlands
United States
France
England
Semifinals:
United States
England
Third Place:
France
Final:
United States
