Women’s World Cup Day 7: Group C is Set; Ireland Eliminated

Just five games into the second series of group stage games at the FIFA Women's World Cup, and Group C is already decided. Japan and Spain, with 2-0 and 5-0 wins over Costa Rica and Zambia, respectively, on Wednesday, have clinched their knockout stage berths, and Costa Rica and Zambia are eliminated.

With the expanded 32-team tournament, only two teams advance from each group. In past years, a third team may have advanced with the right combination of points and goal differential; however, a wider field comes with more competition. The Republic of Ireland, which has played well in this tournament but hasn't had much luck, was eliminated as well with a 2-1 loss to Canada.

Group C was a pretty cut-and-dry group. But there are other “groups of death” that will be fun to watch through the group stage: Group F (Brazil, France, Jamaica and Panama) and Group B (Australia, Canada, Nigeria and Republic of Ireland) have already had some chaos, and more is no doubt on the way. Meanwhile, Group A (Switzerland, New Zealand, Philippines, Norway) has emerged as an unexpectedly messy group which will likely have a dramatic finale when the teams play their final games Sunday.

Japan 2, Costa Rica 0

After Costa Rica lost 3-0 to Spain last week, making just one shot, its game against Japan wasn’t much better.

Forward Hiraku Naomoto opened the scoring for Japan in the 25th minute. Two minutes later, forward Aoba Fujino followed, twisting around the defender with incredible dribbling before shooting it into the far left side of the goal. Fujino is only 19 years old, and her stunning goal bodes well for the future of this Japanese team.

Japan ended with 24 shots (12 on target), while Costa Rica only had 6 (2 on target). Some great saves by Costa Rican goalie Daniela Solera kept the score 2-0 for the rest of the game, but Japan had all of the offensive control.

Spain 5, Zambia 0

It was all bad news for Zambia, which had its second 5-0 loss of the tournament. Worse, Zambia was playing without starting goalie Catherine Musonda, who was sent off at the end of the 5-0 loss to Japan with a second yellow.

Spanish midfielder Teresa Abelleira scored first in the ninth minute; forward Jennifer Hermoso (13’, 70’) and substitute forward Alba Redondo (69’, 85’) each picked up a brace.

The 21-year-old Zambian goalie Eunice Sakala, filling in for Musonda, did her best to stave off the Spanish offensive. Spain had 22 shots, with 13 on target. Zambia, which had zero shots against Japan, put in some offense of its own with 10 shots and 2 on target, but could not break through into the net.

Zambia came into the World Cup ranked 77th, the lowest ranking in the tournament. It was not expected to make it past the group stage, but it’s still a tough way to go out for a team making its World Cup debut.

All four Group C teams will play their final games on Monday, with Japan and Spain facing off to determine who is at the top of the table, and Costa Rica and Zambia facing off to try for a win before heading home.

Canada 2, Republic of Ireland 1

On a rainy, blustery evening in Perth, Australia, Canada defeated Ireland 2-1 in one of the most exciting matches yet.

In the fourth minute, Irish captain Katie McCabe scored an Olimpico goal, direct from a corner kick, that slid just out of Canadian goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan’s reach. It was a stunner to open the game — the first goal scored by Ireland in a World Cup, the fastest goal of the tournament so far, and the first Olimpico goal scored in Women’s World Cup history.

But in the last minutes of first-half stoppage time, Canada put a point on the board to equalize. Off a shot by Canadian midfielder Julia Grosso, the ball was accidentally kicked into goal by Irish defender Megan Connolly. The own goal was caused more by the Canadian attack than the Irish mistake, but that probably wasn’t much consolation for Connolly.

Canada went on top in the 53rd minute, when midfielder Sophie Schmidt set up a beautiful chance for midfielder Adriana Leon to poke the ball past Irish defenders and goalkeeper Courtney Brosnan.

As the second half progressed both teams played with urgency to score, Ireland to equalize and Canada to increase the lead heading into its match against Australia on Monday. Incredible saves from both Sheridan and Brosnan kept the score as is, however, and 2-1 eventually held.

It’s only the second game of the tournament where both teams scored; the other, Sweden vs. South Africa, also ended 2-1 after the favored team (Sweden) came from behind for the win.

Ireland was impressive in its World Cup debut, and it’s tough to see the team go out like this. Group B, an early contender for the “group of death,” has indeed been a bloodbath, and now it’s claimed its first victim.

Next on the slate:

United States vs. Netherlands, 9 p.m. ET

Portugal vs. Vietnam, 3 a.m. ET

Australia vs. Nigeria, 6 a.m. ET