Fighting Matildas Stun Canada on Final Day of Group B Action

It’s Monday, July 31st. Give us four minutes, we give you everything World Cup.

A new chapter of this remarkable, topsy-turvy edition of the World Cup is upon us. We are bearing down upon the knockout rounds, and with teams vying to meet that next phase of competition, the high-stakes, last-gasp matches are upon us. It’s survive and advance football. Simultaneous games play out impacting destiny with various permutations, glory and trauma awaiting dreamers and footballers on either side. We watch now, riveted, as various states of human agony and elation play out simultaneously before us. This is the stuff. This is what makes World Cups like no other.

1. US meet Portugal tomorrow in final test of Group E 🇺🇲🇵🇹(3 AM EST, FOX, Peacock, Telemundo)

After a tough test that ended even against the Dutch in Wellington, the US are back in Auckland, preparing to meet their third and final test of the group. In the wee hours of the east coast morning (and just past midnight for left coast friends) Vlatko Andonovski’s squad faces debutantes Portugal, who meet the US after falling to the Dutch and defeating Vietnam.

The US will be favorites, and with a win or a draw they move on. But more is at stake than simply progressing from the group, and the US will want not simply to win, but do so by a favorable margin (and hoping that Vietnam holds the Netherlands to a shortage of goals).

For with one eye on knockout opponents, placing first will mean avoiding reliable American-kryptonite Sweden, and finding a far kinder route to the ensuing rounds.

Portugal comes first, though. Today in Auckland, Vlatko Andonovski pointed toward the parity displayed across the tournament, the myriad upsets, the underdogs rising up, telling media Portugal may not be a simple task:

“​​Rankings mean nothing. We see an interesting result every day, something shocking. And it’s not because one team had a terrible game and the other team the game of their life. Both competed well. It’s an indication of the growth of women’s football."

Programming Note: US Women’s National Team World Cup Winners Sam Mewis and Becky Sauerbrunn will join Rog live on Twitch in the early hours of tomorrow morning Tuesday August 1st at 2:45am EST for the USWNT showdown with Portugal. Then come and join us on AMP right at the final whistle. We cannot wait to raise a pint with you and answer your questions live on the Pod. Download the AMP app or listen on your laptop HERE. You can also tell your Alexa, “Hey Alexa, play Men in Blazers” while we’re live and you can listen in.

2. Sam Kerr-less Australia sail through Canada 4-0

Australia met their final match of the group desperate for a win to keep their tournament hopes alive. In front of 27,706 elated fans in Melbourne this Monday evening, the Matildas delivered not simply a win, but an absolute demolition of the reigning gold medalists to keep their World Cup journey moving (and the chance we might see Sam Kerr).

From start to finish, Canada held more of the possession (save for 10 minutes toward the end when the Tillies dominated that also). But Australia played a perfectly-executed press and counter game that showed a real poise and maturity as they put four goals past Canada.

Incredible footballer and even more remarkable human, Hayley Raso, opened that scoring and settled the second as well, securing a first-half brace for the Matildas in her home World Cup, just a few years after a broken vertebrae injury left her wondering if she’d ever walk again. As she left the field in the second half, the crowd gave her a roar perhaps even louder than when she’d scored either goal. A true hero.

No doubt the crowd’s energy made Canada’s recovery more difficult, as the Matildas seemed to float toward inevitable victory partly on the sheer force of their momentum.

Canada’s manager, Bev Priestman, told the media following the match: “these moments define you”. Wise words, and ones worthy of applying toward every team in this tournament. That includes toward the Matildas, who dug deep to pull out an incredible performance and end up first in the group of death after all. As they move on to the knockout round (alongside Nigeria), perhaps this moment will define how capable they suddenly find themselves of running deep into it.

Sam Kerr, who was available to play this evening on limited minutes, watched from the sidelines. Should the Tillies indeed last long enough, the likelihood of finally seeing her run out with them increases.

3. Japan tops Group C & Zambia makes history 🇯🇵🇪🇸🇿🇲🇨🇷

In Wellington, Spain and Japan met to determine the order of Group C, with both teams already qualified to the knockouts on arrival. Japan took first place with a stunning 4-0 merciless counter-attacking affair, revealing Spanish defensive holes in the process. Hinata Miyazawa (Mynati Sendai) scored twice, moving to the top of the golden boot race.

Costa Rica and Zambia met their final match Monday evening in New Zealand while already eliminated from the World Cup. But the match was a celebratory occasion, as Zambia took hold of the opportunity to collect their first-ever World Cup win, defeating Costa Rica 3-1. It was an incredible moment in history for a proud nation with remarkable talent, who’ve overcome so much to achieve without the support they need. Lushomo Mweemba (Green Buffaloes WFC) scored their first-ever World Cup goal in the 3rd minute. The incredible attacking talent of Barbra Banda (Shanghai Shengli) joined her in the 31st to make it 2-0. Costa Rica pulled one back in the 47th minute, but Racheal Kundananji (Madrid CFF) added a third to finish things 3-1 in stoppage time.

4. Over the weekend 🌏🏆

The final spate of second-round games transpired across this past weekend, taking us firmly into the final tests of this week.

Here’s what went down, and where teams stand:

Colombia 2 - 1 Germany 🇨🇴🇩🇪

Just when you thought you’ve seen the game of the tournament, another thrilling stunner emerges. So it was in Sunday’s Group H clash, which saw an ascendant Colombia upset tournament favorites Germany. Eighteen-year-old Linda Caicedo (Real Madrid) continued to stamp her name on the world stage, leading her nation to victory with the opening goal. Pretty as it was, the stoppage-time game winner from Grêmio’s Mónica Ramos (overcoming Alex Popp’s 89th minute equalizer) is in contention for top goal of the World Cup.

France 2 - 1 Brazil 🇫🇷🇧🇷

France found their footing as they limited Brazil in a 2-1 back and forth Group F test. The game asked questions of a glory-hungry Brazilian side that entered the match riding high on their 4-0 opener, but left with a loss and a tough final test looming against Jamaica.

Sweden 5 - 0 Italy 🇸🇪🇮🇹

The Swedes put distance between first and second place in Group G as they dispensed with Italy 5-0. With it, Sweden are through to the next round. Italy still sits second, but they’ll meet a South African side next that seem capable of knocking them from the knockouts.

Jamaica 1 - 0 Panama 🇯🇲🇵🇦

The Reggae Girlz collected their first-ever World Cup win against fellow Concacaf contenders Panama. With Bunny Shaw sidelined with a red card from their 0-0 opener against France, the team celebrated while holding up her jersey.

Morocco 1 - 0 South Korea 🇲🇦🇰🇷

Morocco entered this tournament on a parade of “firsts”: the first majority Arab nation to qualify for the Women’s World Cup among them. Against South Korea, in just their second match at this level, Morocco collected their first-ever World Cup win. Just one goal did the trick, delivered by Ibtissam Jraïdi (Al Alhi).

5. Parting shots: The Football Ferns end their run as co-hosts with 0-0 draw 🇳🇿

Despite the promising start, New Zealand is the first host of the Women’s World Cup to be eliminated in the group stage. They sealed their unfortunate fate with a 0-0 admittedly dull draw with Switzerland, which saw the Swiss go through the group in first place.

Alongside their final draw, the Football Ferns leave behind a loss to the Philippines and a historic first World Cup win over Norway before a record crowd in Auckland for their opening game.

Most importantly, the spirit of Ali Riley’s hope for her homeland lives on:

“I hope that little girls across New Zealand and the world now will start playing the sport and feel like they can achieve whatever they put their mind to."