Women’s World Cup Day 10: Group F Gets a Little More Wild

The knockout-stage picture in the Women's World Cup is starting to get clearer. Sweden, for example, clinched a spot from Group G with a 5-0 win over Italy Saturday.  

But Group F is looking a little more fuzzy. Last week Brazil beat Panama 4-0 while France and Jamaica fought to a stunning 0-0 draw. Now, with France’s 2-1 victory over Brazil and Jamaica’s 1-0 defeat of Panama, France and Jamaica sit on top of Group F, ahead of Brazil.

Group F, along with chaotic Group B (Canada, Australia, Nigeria and Ireland), have some of the qualities that define a Group of Death: Close matches, underdog wins, the potential early exit of an early favorite, etc. Jamaica’s first World Cup win came with a shocking chance to advance to the knockout stage in just its second World Cup.

Panama, meanwhile, is eliminated from the knockout stage in its first-ever World Cup, but has a chance to really shake things up in its match against France on Wednesday. Either way, these final group matches will be something to watch out for.

Sweden 5, Italy 0

The beginning of the game didn’t betray how the final score would shake out: Italy had a few early opportunities, which were saved by Swedish keeper Zećira Mušović. But then, the goals began.

Sweden’s first came in the 39th minute, when defender Amanda Ilestedt nailed a header off a corner kick by Jonna Andersson. Two more came in quick succession: a tap off another corner from Fridolina Rolfö in the 44th minute, and a rebound picked up by striker Stina Blackstenius for another goal early in first-half stoppage time.

It didn’t stop after halftime: In the 50th minute, Ilestedt scored another header off another corner from Andersson. Sweden had seven corner kicks in this game, and scored on three of them. The game ended 5-0, a proper blowout.

World Cup blowouts are not uncommon — just look at this tournament, with Japan and Spain’s 5-0 defeats of Zambia, Germany’s 6-0 win over Morocco and Brazil’s 4-0 win over Panama. But it’s a tough look for Italy, which made it to the quarterfinals last World Cup.

With this game, Sweden secures its spot in the next stage, and Italy, South Africa and Argentina have a chance to fight for the final slot on Wednesday.

France 2, Brazil 1

France vs. Brazil, a highly anticipated match in the group stage, was as exciting as hoped. Both teams came out with great offensive opportunities, and both goalies — France’s Pauline Peyraud Magnin and Brazil’s Letícia Izidoro — made excellent saves to keep the match close.

In the 17th minute, French defender Sakina Karchaoui sent a long cross forward, where Kadidiatou Diani directed the ball with her head towards Eugénie Le Sommer, who flicked the ball into the net.

In the 58th minute, Brazilian midfielder Kerolin took a shot, which was helpfully redirected by midfielder Ary Borges to forward Debinha’s feet. Debinha controlled the ball, let it bounce once, and then took a shot that swept past Peyraud Magnin and gave Brazil the equalizer.

Then, in the 83rd minute, French captain Wendie Renard - initially questionable for this game with a calf injury - scoried on a header off a corner kick by Selma Bacha.

France played the rest of the game relatively safe, cutting off Brazil’s space. Brazil got one final chance with a free kick deep in stoppage time, but it didn't go through. France won, 2-1. 

This was a highly competitive game between two longtime women’s soccer powerhouses. Brazil now has to beat Jamaica in order to move on to the knockout stage, a feat that appears less simple given Jamaica’s recent record.

Jamaica 1, Panama 0

Jamaica came into this game without star forward Khadija “Bunny” Shaw, who was given a second yellow card late in Jamaica’s 0-0 draw with France last week. Panama, meanwhile, had suffered a 4-0 loss to Brazil, and needed to dodge a loss to avoid elimination.

Both teams went scoreless in the first half, despite a few good set piece opportunities on both sides. Yenith Bailey, Panama’s keeper, had multiple first half saves to keep Jamaica from scoring. And in the second half, Jamaican goalie Rebecca Spencer had a few saves of her own as Panama upped its offensive production.

But in the 56th minute, Jamaican captain Allyson Swaby rose above the scrum to score a header off a corner kick by Trudi Carter. The goal by Swaby, a Connecticut native, is Jamaica’s second in World Cup history, and the players celebrated as if they had just won it all.

Next on the slate:

South Korea vs. Morocco, 12:30 a.m.

Norway vs. Philippines, 3 a.m. ET

Switzerland vs. New Zealand, 3 a.m.

Germany vs. Colombia, 5:30 a.m. ET