We now know the 16 teams left at the 2023 Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. The teams that made it through the group stage are Switzerland, Norway, Australia, Nigeria, Japan, Spain, England, Denmark, the Netherlands, United States, France, Jamaica, Sweden, South Africa, Colombia, and Morocco. Among the nations out are the reigning Olympic gold medalists in Team Canada, two-time World Cup champion Germany, two-time World Cup medalist Brazil, co-host New Zealand, traditional men’s World Cup Soccer contenders Portugal, Italy and Argentina, and 1999 Women’s World Cup finalist China.
What are the matches and when?
The round of 16 starts Saturday morning at 1 a.m. ET. At that time Switzerland will play Spain. The other matchup in the middle of the night on Saturday is Japan versus Norway at 4 a.m. ET. Then on Saturday evening, the Netherlands will play South Africa at 10 p.m. ET. That will be followed by Sweden versus the United States at 5 a.m. ET on Sunday, England versus Nigeria at 3:30 am ET on Monday, Australia versus Denmark at 6:30 a.m. ET on Monday, Colombia versus Jamaica at 4 am on Tuesday, and France versus Morocco at 7 a.m. ET on Tuesday.
Surprise representation
Some of the biggest surprises in the round of 16 is the fact that the knockout stage includes Jamaica and the three African nations of Nigeria, Morocco, and South Africa. In Group B, Nigeria went undefeated with a record of one win and two draws. Nigeria had three goals in the group stage, with all three goals coming in a 3-2 win over Australia. They tied Canada and Ireland to 0-0 deadlocks.
In Group F, like Nigeria, Jamaica advanced with a record of one win and two draws, with two of their ties coming at 0-0 scores. The Jamaicans beat Panama 1-0 on a goal by Allyson Swaby, before coming away with stunning ties against France and Brazil.
In Group G, South Africa finished second with a record of one win, one loss and one draw. If it was not for a late Swedish surge, South Africa would have had a point in all three games. The most significant result by South Africa came in their final game, where they stunned Italy with a 3-2 win. Thembi Kgatlana scored in the 92nd minute.
Finally in Group H, nobody expected Morocco to get by Germany. Despite losing 6-0 to Germany, Morocco advanced with a record of two wins and one loss, while Germany was only at one win, one loss, and one draw. The biggest reason why Morocco got by Germany is because they beat Colombia on a goal by Anissa Lahmari, while Germany lost to Colombia 2-1.
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