Key events
6 min: Sweden already look better on the attacking press than they did against the USA, a lot of early defending for Japan. A cross comes in but Shimizu is there to head away.
4 min: Asllani is over the free kick ball and it is a really good delivery but Takahashi is who it meets, she passes to Hasegawa who clears.
3 min: Takahashi does well to cut out a long range pass but Sweden continue to press. Asllani is fouled by Miyazawa and Sweden have a free kick.
2 min: Bjorn is employed to defend straight away and she sees it out for a corner. Hasegawa takes the corner short but Rubensson defends well and Sweden are eventually able to quell the danger.
Kick-off! Japan 0-0 Sweden
Here we go then, Spain await in the semi-final. Everything to play for, 90 minutes (plus extra time and penalties if needed) to decide it.
Japan are the only nation left in the tournament who have previously won the World Cup. They lifted the trophy in 2011. Can Sweden knock-out another previous winner? We will find out soon with kick-off imminent.
The players are out in Auckland! The atmosphere is sizzling, the anthems will shortly follow. Who will face Spain in the semis? All to come.
It was Lina Hurtig’s penalty that broke the USA’s hearts in the last 16 but it’s a memory the Swedish player will make permanent if her team can win the trophy. Read more here:
Here is a great piece on Japan’s star Miyazawa:
Some news from around the tournament now and England’s Lauren James will miss the quarter-final and semi-final (if England go through) after receiving a two match ban following her red card against Nigeria. Read the full piece:
If players have been booked before this game and receive a yellow in this match they will be banned for the semi-final should their team go through. The players already booked for Sweden are Asllani and Schough, while Japan have no one in the book.
It’s another round of knock-out football and I always wonder what the players are feeling before a match. So I thought I would ask all of you if you had experienced something similar, albeit on a smaller scale! Ever have a school championship match? Were you in a local production? Let me know the moments where you had to perform under pressure! You can get in touch via Twitter or email.
There is so much to take in during a World Cup and you may miss a thing or two so I’ve put a piece together on 10 things you may have missed. Have a read of it:
Anita Asante is the writer of our weekly women’s football newsletter Moving the Goalposts this week and she has predicted how each of the quarter-finals will shake out. She has said Japan v Sweden will see Japan come out as 2-1 winners, see her explanation as to why here:
The first semi-finalist of this Women’s World Cup has been decided! The Netherlands and Spain played one another earlier today and it was Spain who got through to the last four after an extra time Salma Paralluelo winner. The Barcelona player has competed so well all tournament and her celebrations show how much it meant! Read the report:
Sweden have also named their starting XI! They have not made any changes to the team who beat the USA.
Starting team: Musovic, Bjorn, Ilestedt, Eriksson, Andersson, Angeldahl, Asllani, Rubensson, Kaneryd, Blackstenius, Rolfo.
The team news is in! Let’s start with Japan and they make one change from their win over Norway with Sugita coming in for Endo.
Starting XI: Yamashita, Shimizu, Minami, Kumagai, Sugita, Miyazawa, Nagano, Tanaka, Takahashi, Hasegawa, Fujino.
Preamble
Hello and welcome to the second quarter-final of the Women’s World Cup! What a tasty clash we have with Japan taking on Sweden with both countries winning all of their games so far and only conceding one goal each.
Japan are being considered one of the strongest teams at the tournament. They have been dominant in every match they have played and even thumped Spain 4-0 in the group stage. They also have Hinata Miyazawa in their ranks who currently occupies top spot in the Golden Boot race.
Sweden, meanwhile, have not been as clinical in front of goal but they have ground out results. Their best coming against defending champions USA in the last 16 where Sweden knocked them out on penalties. Japan will pose an even stronger attacking threat in the last-eight game and so goalkeeper Zećira Mušović will be likely to have another busy match.
Both teams will reveal their starting XI’s soon so stay tuned for all the updates ahead of kick-off in a hour’s time.
