The 2023 Ladies’s Global Cup is in complete swing, and those day by day information provide the untouched reporting from across the event in addition to having a bet strains, what-to-watch-for data and highest reads. Test in with ESPN all through the event as we deliver you the untouched from Australia and Brandnew Zealand.

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The top: Sweden stun Japan to seal exit

AUCKLAND, Brandnew Zealand — The utmost of the previous Ladies’s Global Cup winners has been eradicated from the contest, that means a unused champion shall be topped quickly.

Sweden shellshocked a Japan group that had appeared like the event’s maximum dominant facet up thus far, successful 2-1 with objectives from Amanda Ilestedt and Filippa Angeldal. Riko Ueki’s arguable 76th-minute penalty accident the bar sooner than a past due Honoka Hayashi collision made the rating extra first rate — and, moments sooner than, Aoba Fujino accident the bar with a distant kick that rolled around the goalline — however Sweden had been the easier facet, producing extra and higher probabilities.

Unsurprisingly, Sweden’s opening target got here from a collection piece. Within the thirty second tiny, Kosovare Asllani lofted a distant kick into the field, which goalkeeper Ayaka Yamashita punched away. What adopted was once 4 stopped pictures via Sweden gamers till the ball fell happily in entrance of Ilestedt, who stepped in entrance of Japan protection to fit it time Yamashita.

– Ladies’s Global Cup: Touchdown web page | Bracket | Time table | Information

Japan didn’t sign in a shot till the twenty fifth tiny, and their first shot in goal got here within the thirty second tiny as they struggled to deal with Sweden’s press.

“We were talking about being close to them and keeping on pressure,” stated ahead Sofia Jakobsson afterwards. “If we couldn’t win the first ball, going in for the second, and I think that worked really well in the first until we scored the second goal. Japan was growing and they put pressure on us, but I’m super proud of how the team played.”

Sweden will now face Spain within the semifinal and as Japan was once the lone former champion left within the festival, their proceed signifies that best groups that experience by no means received the Ladies’s Global Cup stay. — Caitlin Murray

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Points of interest and sounds

Spain shaken however no longer stirred

An earthquake measuring 5.6 at the Richter Scale was once recorded in Wellington at 11.53 a.m. native age on Friday — simply over an day sooner than Spain’s quarterfinal win in opposition to Netherlands within the Brandnew Zealand capital.

For the Brandnew Zealand-based reporters within the media centre on the stadium, the pinging of indicators on their telephones showed that that they had skilled a “shake,” however the FIFA group of workers within the room had been unaware when requested whether or not the tremor, which was once known as having an epicentre within the Cook dinner Straits between the North and South Islands, would affect at the recreation itself.

The earthquake resulted in minor shaking in and across the stadium, and Spain mentor Jorge Vilda stated that it didn’t distract his group from the problem of thrashing the Dutch — however he did divulge that his gamers had skilled tremors previous to the sport.

“We were so concentrated on the game that we didn’t feel it [quake], although we felt some shakes at the hotel the day before,” Vilda stated. “The victory of Spain was the earthquake.”

Spain’s gamers reported feeling an earthquake previous within the festival when a 4.6 tremor shook Wellington on July 30 hour the squad had been founded in Palmerston, a the city to the north of the capital. — Mark Ogden

A statue for Van der Gragt?

Stefanie van der Gragt had signalled her aim to resign on the finish of Global Cup previous to the event, however the Netherlands defender may no longer have needed for a extra eventful ultimate recreation.

The 30-year-old Inter Milan defender scored a splendid equaliser for the Dutch then conceding a penalty for a reckless handball. And with the sport drifting in opposition to extra-time, she nearly scored an own-goal with a mis-hit clearance that compelled goalkeeper Daphne van Domselaar right into a save.

Van der Gragt’s hopes of bowing out with a Global Cup winners’ medal got here to an finish when Salma Paralluelo settled the connect with an impressive solo target within the 111th tiny. However hour he accepts Van der Gragt’s determination to resign, Dutch mentor Andries Jonker advised that, if she doesn’t trade her thoughts, a statue must be inbuilt her proclaim.

“She is not the best player in the world but she is maybe the best defender,” Jonker stated. “She is the kind of defender that the game just doesn’t produce anymore. I think she deserves a statue for what she has done for the Netherlands and the game. We respect her a lot, but it’s her decision. If she changed her mind, she would be welcome.” — Mark Ogden

Colombia ‘decongest’ with a dinner out

SYDNEY — Irrespective of what awaits Colombia of their quarterfinal assembly with England on Saturday, Nelson Abadía and his facet reside as much as his declaration following their 1-0 win over Jamaica within the around of 16: “We want to write history, we want to make history. It is better to make history than tell history.”

Now not best have Las Cafeteras already bested their prime watermark on this event (a round-of-16 look in Canada in 2015), they’re now the lone population from the Americas — north or south — left status. However historical past makers hardly achieve this with out feeling an added weight of expectation, probability and apprehension. That’s to mention not anything of the day by day grind that wears away on the frame and thoughts throughout prolonged age spent in a foreign country, in camp, at a significant event. So, forward in their accident with the Lionesses, Abadía and his facet took a crack.

“After six weeks of camp, sometimes you have a match that is just mental, like this one,” he stated on Friday. “Because it is going to open the door to the best four in the world, so we needed to decongest, mentally decongest the team so they could find themselves. For a little bit of recreation, we went out for dinner, got out of the hotel routine that can also be a little fatiguing as a player and as a coach. Sometimes it can be quite difficult. We wanted to bring back the normalcy of living together, so we took a day off just to relax and now we are back. It’s not that we distanced ourselves from the match, because we got ourselves more [mentally] firm in the face of it.”

Colombia will get started as underdogs in opposition to England at Stadium Australia, however having already defeated runners-up Germany within the team level, neither Abadía nor ahead Mayra Ramírez appeared overawed via the Ecu champions.

“We know they are strong, but Colombia has shown that they have talent, that they sacrifice on the pitch,” Ramírez stated. “Because of issues with fate, we had to face the champion of Europe and the runner-up of Europe,” Abadía added. “Germany was a great team and now we have to face England. This is a match that you need to play: every match is a different story, a different plan, a different strategy, and we’re going to be working on that.” — Joey Lynch

England’s go from fish and chips to Global Cup

SYDNEY — Beth England has been old within the super-sub position at this Global Cup for England, and it’s a “pinch me” generation for the striker who old to put together ends meet via running in a fish and chips store in Barnsley.

When she unpriviledged via for the Doncaster Belles within the inaugural WSL again in 2011, she did her A-Ranges, performed soccer and labored in a single day to investmrent using courses. She’d paintings evening shifts on Fridays and Saturdays within the Wellington Boulevard takeaway in Barnsley.

On Thursday, she was once going through the media in Sydney, having performed in 3 of England’s 4 suits at this event, together with scoring her penalty within the Lionesses’ 4-2 shootout win over Nigeria within the around of 16. It’s a terrific go back for a striker who compelled her approach into the squad via creating a midseason walk to Tottenham to get common soccer.

“When I look back to working in the chippy, doing a shift until 5 a.m. and clearing up drunk peoples’ food or alcohol bottles, I’m now playing in a major tournament. That for me is very much a ‘pinch me’ moment,” England stated. “Everyone’s story is different, everyone has got their own way in which they got here. I think it’s quite special because it’s really humbling as well that with things like that you are just a normal person but then you come to a tournament like this and think, ‘Wow, there are millions and millions of eyes watching me in these moments.’

“I feel it’s particular and it’s moments like that you’ll truly investmrent for your profession as a result of you understand the place you’ve come from and the way withered you’ve labored to get to what you succeed in.”

England’s team base is in Terrigal, a beach town north of Sydney. Along the beachfront are numerous seafood restaurants, and England is a connoisseur of which fish to go for.

“I’m most probably a tiny little bit of a fish and chip snob as a result of I do know what a excellent fish is,” she said. “I don’t like the outside on my fish both. If somebody sought after one battering, I must be capable of do a excellent activity!” — Tom Hamilton

Matildas’ Hunt meets idol Renard

Marta’s impassioned speech before her final World Cup game saw her speak about the lack of women role models for her growing up. “We’ve got gamers to appear as much as [in women’s football] and that do not have came about if we had stayed nonetheless on the first hurdle we confronted,” she said.

The persistence of her generation, and previous generations, has counted for something with the current crop of players being able to list off women as their footballing heroes. One such player is Australia’s Clare Hunt, a no-nonsense centre-back. Lining up for only her 11th game in her national team career, Hunt had two defensive idols growing up: her Matildas teammate Clare Polkinghorne, and French icon Wendie Renard.

“Wendie Renard was once a task type for me. I noticed her composure at a tender day and sought after to emulate that by hook or by crook,” Hunt told media. “I think like I know how that Wendie performs as a result of I old to observe her as a child. She’s a terrific athlete, centre-back, chief.”

That Renard and Hunt will now do battle — mostly at set pieces — while commanding their respective backlines is one of the signs of progress of the women’s game globally. You can’t be what you can’t see and long may the kids of today have women to look up to on the pitch. — Marissa Lordinac

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News of the day

• For Tony Gustavsson there is no question as to what Sam Kerr’s involvement in Australia’s quarterfinal against France will look like if she is fit. “I need to be very cloudless right here now to mention if Sam is have compatibility to play games 90 mins, she’s creation,” Gustavsson told reporters on the eve of the side’s quarterfinal. “There’s no longer even a query and the group is aware of it. We’re speaking about Sam Kerr right here, whether or not she is able to play games 90 mins plus supplementary age, that’s to be determined this night. However there’s refuse query in any way that if she is [fit], she’s creation.”

• Spain teenager Salma Paralluelo made a spectacular impact off the bench to send La Roja into the semifinals for the first time. The 19-year-old Barcelona winger decided a tense quarterfinal when she scored the extra-time winner in La Roja’s 2-1 win over 2019 runners-up Netherlands. The former sprinter showcased her speed for the goal, racing up the pitch before sidestepping a defender and firing a left-footed shot that ricocheted off the post and in.

  Paralluelo made a memorable debut with the senior Spain team only last November, scoring a hat-trick in a 7-0 win over Argentina in a friendly. She had been one of Spain’s top sprinters, competing at the European indoor championships in the 400 metres in 2019, before giving up athletics to focus solely on soccer.

  “The target from Salma, it was once sheer pleasure,” said coach Jorge Vilda. “Salma is a participant with monumental possible and he or she’s no longer reached her highest but. She’s an overly younger participant who has been coaching one yr in soccer particularly, and the most productive of Salma we’ll see it going forward. Now she’s finest, however going forward it’s moving to be a lot, a lot more.”

• England star Lauren James has been hit with a two-match suspension by FIFA for the red card she picked up against Nigeria. The length of suspension means that if England beat Colombia on Saturday then James will miss the semifinal against either Australia or France. However, the two-match ban means she will be available for the final or third-place playoff depending on how the Lionesses fare if they reach the final four.

  James was shown a red card in the 87th minute of England’s round-of-16 match against Nigeria after she was seen stamping on Michelle Alozie’s back. England eventually got through the tricky tie 4-2 on penalties but had to manage extra time with 10 players. She could have picked up a three-match suspension — therefore ending her World Cup — but the FIFA disciplinary committee deemed the offence worthy of a two-match ban, the lower end of the scale for serious foul play.

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Match previews, Saturday Aug. 12

Australia vs. France – (Lang Park, Brisbane; 5 p.m. local / 3 a.m. ET / 8 a.m. UK)

“We don’t seem to be taking part in in opposition to a group. We’re taking part in in opposition to an entire population,” France coach Hervé Renard told a news conference on Friday. His side face the co-hosts in a packed stadium in Brisbane but are ready for the furore. It is worth noting that France have had 17 different starters in this tournament and every single on-field player has featured at least once so far. That is is the total opposite for the Matildas who have hardly rotated and used minimal subs.

A lot of the prematch talk has been around the fitness of Australia star Sam Kerr, but Renard isn’t bothered. “It’s not my condition whether or not she begins or no longer,” he said. “We received’t trade our taste. They have got accomplished smartly with out her offensively however I’d no longer trade any of my forwards for theirs.” Indeed, France have all their players available and Renard will keep his 4-4-2 formation to attack Australia.

Back on July 14, the hosts beat them 1-0 in a friendly just before the start of the competition but this is a complete different game. The key, maybe more than Kerr’s presence on the pitch, will be how to deal with the pressure of a World Cup quarterfinal. Concentration will be crucial and the occasion could get the best of either team. — Julien Laurens

England vs. Colombia – (Stadium Australia, Sydney; 8.30 p.m. local / 6.30 a.m. ET / 11.30 a.m. BST)

England are braced for a hostile crowd when they face Colombia, as the stadium is expected to be dominated by Colombian fans. England are looking to up their game after their nervy 4-2 win on penalties against Nigeria in the round of 16 and goalkeeper Mary Earps said the “highest is but to come back” from the Lionesses, but they’ll be wary of the threat Colombia pose.

Colombia manager Nelson Abadia has said his team are playing in seven World Cup finals [potentially all their games at this tournament] — this their fifth, after winning all three of their group matches against South Korea, Germany and Morocco, then edging past Jamaica 1-0 in the round of 16. Linda Caicedo, Catalina Usme and Mayra Ramírez will be the keys once more.

England are favourites and are hoping to get the job done in normal time, avoiding the anguish of a penalty shootout. “I am hoping we don’t have that a lot rigidity,” manager Sarina Wiegman said. “We’ve observable on this event no longer one recreation is simple for somebody. It’s so aggressive. It’s the wonderful thing about the sport and the expansion of the ladies’s recreation. I am hoping it’s determined sooner than that however let’s hope it is going our approach.” — Tom Hamilton

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Features of the day

After lighting up Women’s World Cup, Japan are out
Japan’s dream run at the FIFA Women’s World Cup has ended in the quarterfinals. Perhaps 2023 just wasn’t their time yet.

USWNT coach candidates to replace Andonovski after World Cup
With Vlatko Andonovski expected to leave as USWNT coach soon, who in the soccer world has the experience and track record to take the job? We break down 11 potential candidates ranging from “should name” to long shot.

Matildas steeled by experiences, thriving on World Cup rollercoaster
Australia will secure a maiden World Cup semifinal berth should they defeat France in Brisbane, and their fans will re-board the emotional rollercoaster hoping for more than one more ride.

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And finally …

SYDNEY — Not only is Australia’s coming quarterfinal against France the biggest game in Matildas’ history, but it’s also set to be one of the biggest sporting events the country has seen in decades.

Tickets are the most in-demand item since Taylor Swift announced she was touring Down Under, while the excitement surrounding the fixture has seen councils across the country provide a host of live sites where supporters can communally watch the match. Rod Laver Arena (home of the Australian Open tennis grand slam) and Sydney’s Olympic Park (which will host England’s quarterfinal with Colombia later that evening) are being transformed into impromptu watch parties.

After the Matildas’ win over Denmark set ratings records, on Wednesday free-to-air rights holders Channel 7 took the extraordinary step of moving to broadcast the game on its main channel in all of Australia’s states and territories, which, in turn, delayed the start of its flagship news bulletin. Such a move isn’t unprecedented in a sporting context, however, you can count the number of times that’s happened for football before on one hand and have fingers left over.

Perhaps most extraordinarily, the reigning overlord of the Australian sporting scene, the AFL, has moved to delay the opening bounce of its blockbuster clash between Carlton and Melbourne until 7.30 p.m. local time to aid this move. Additionally, the MCG, Perth’s Optus Stadium, and SCG, which are all hosting AFL games that day, will put the Matildas on their big screens before and after their respective fixtures. Adelaide Crows coach Matthew Nicks, whose side travels to face the Brisbane Lions at the same time as the Matildas game remarked: “If I may, I’d be looking at the Matildas as smartly.” — Joey Lynch