In the FIFA Women’s World Cup eight teams remain. Out of the eight teams, the USA is the only one, not a European country. This World Cup is like a European Entourage. In this World Cup, the European teams have dominated. This is proven in that all but one of the teams remaining are European. In this article, I will rank these teams based off of goal differentials, quality of opponents in the tournament, and quality of matches they played. Lastly, no disrespect to any of the teams in the tournament as they are all talented and that’s why they made it to the World Cup.
1. Germany
They have taken care of business with not much media attention and have had quite a break to heal from any injuries. Germany is a dark horse that can win the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup. They don’t have one-star player, all their roster is great and that is why they have advanced to the quarterfinals. If they win their quarterfinal match they will have to face the winner of the Italy/Netherlands game. Then if they make it to the World Cup Finals they could face France or the USA. They are favorites to win the tournament. France is the host nation and the USA are the defending champions. Lastly, Germany is the only team that has not had a goal scored on them in the entire tournament.
2. USA
The defending 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup champions are second. In their last match against Spain, they played sloppy. They allowed Spain to score one goal and the goals the USA scored were on penalty kicks or set pieces. Spain was the first team to score a goal on the defending champions. That is why I have them ranked second despite being champions. Furthermore, they haven’t played teams of their caliber. Spain was the first team close to the caliber of the USA. Next up they face the host nation which will be a game to watch.
3. Norway
Norway has been improving throughout the tournament while playing high caliber opponents. Additionally, they came up clutch against Australia in penalty kicks. They are similar to Germany in the way they play as a team. However, they do have star players and those star players create plays for their team. Norway is a quick, physical team with agility and skill. They are a team that has been surprising everyone this tournament. Their next match is against England who played sloppy but is a team who is versatile and so is Norway. This match should be an even match.
4. France
France is the host nation and so far they have been living up to the expectations, which is not easy to accomplish. In the group stage, they defeated the team ranked ahead of them Norway by one goal. Then in the last round, they held on to defeat Brazil in extra time. However, similar to the USA they played a sloppy game as well. Furthermore, France has played high caliber teams in the group stage and round of sixteen. Hence, when they face the USA that will be their toughest game. Also, this match may be the FIFA Women’s World Cup game before the Finals. Both teams are coming off sloppy matches. Expect both teams to play quality sound soccer throughout the soccer field. This match consists of the defending World Cup champions and the host nation.
5. Italy
It can be argued that Italy is ranked low, They were one of the few teams who didn’t allow a goal in the round of sixteen. They are ranked here because the teams ahead of them are high caliber teams as well. Italy played some high caliber teams in the group stage in Brazil and Australia. Also, they have surprised everyone in this tournament. In the group stage, they shocked everyone and defeated Australia. Similar to Germany Italy has won games they needed to win and the difference is they are one of the few teams remaining that lost a match in the group stage. In the round of sixteen, they defeated China and they take on the Netherlands in the quarterfinals. Italy is a sleeper team in the World Cup. Before these rankings, I had them ahead of Norway and then Norway’s last match pushed them ahead of Italy.
6. England
England is one of the few teams with the depth on their roster. Not only depth but the quality of their players’ skills on the depth chart. They had one of the difficult group stages in facing Argentina, Japan, and Scotland. In their last match, they won three to zero but should have lost to Cameroon. Yes, England is the better team, but they didn’t’ play like they were. England is ranked low because there are only eight teams remaining, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t good. They face Norway in the quarterfinals and their opponent only keeps improving. Expect this match to be the match to watch out of the four games in this round. England winning would actually be the upset.
7. Netherlands
The Netherlands is a team who is also similar to Germany by not receiving attention from the media. They are receiving attention from their fan base and their country. In their last match they defeated Japan in what was a hard fought and close game. The Dutch scored in the closing minutes because of an accidental handball in the box by the Japanese. That is how they won. If they play like this against Italy they will lose because Italy has found ways to capitalize on critical game situations.
8. Sweden
Lastly, there is Sweden who defeated Canada in their last match. Other than Canada the highest quality opponent they faced were the defending champions the USA. Sweden found a way to hold on to defeat Canada despite having less possession. This style of play won’t work against Germany and they are the next biggest test for Sweden. If Sweden expects to win they will need to not worry about defense and focus on offense. If Germany has more possession of the ball expect them to win. In this game whoever takes higher quality shots will win this match.
