And then there was one.
With the USA's shocking exit this week in the Round of 16—the team's earliest ever elimination in any major tournament—the sole remaining Angel City player at the World Cup is Japan's Jun Endo.
If you've been under a rock, you can find our recaps of the first two weeks here and here, our World Cup intro here, and our watch party hub here.
Read on for a recap of the last week of games, plus a look ahead at the quarterfinals.
August 5: Japan 3, Norway 1
Another strong performance from Japan got them through to the quarterfinals in comfortable fashion. Now four games deep, the Nadeshiko have shown that they can win different kinds of games.
In contrast with the group-stage rout against Spain where the team sat in a low block, possessing the ball less than a quarter of the time and striking fast in transition, they recorded 60% possession in their first knockout-round match. Their second goal in this game saw them dismantle Norway's low block in a full-team effort, a different look from their transitional goals.
A lucky 15th minute goal where Norway defender Ingrid Syrstad Engen deflected a hopeful long-range strike from forward Hinata Miyazawa into the net opened the scoring. Norway answered just five minutes later with a nice header by midfielder Guro Reiten.
The aforementioned second goal, in the 50th minute, started with Endo sending a pass from the wing to Miyazawa in the pocket. A backline-stretching run by midfielder Yui Hasegawa and a poorly judged Norway pass set wingback Risa Shimizu up for success when she made a late run from the right and put her chance away.
Number three came in the 81st minute off a pinpoint through ball by forward Aoba Fujino, which Miyazawa ran onto and finished in one gorgeous touch.
August 6: USA 0, Sweden 0; SWE advances on penalties
I'm guessing if you're reading this you know what happened here, so I won't belabor it.
The US switched formations for this match and ironically looked better than they had the last two games, but 12 shots on goal and 32 crosses weren't enough to get the job done against Sweden, who always seem to have the Yanks' number when it matters most.
It was the USWNT's earliest ever exit from a major tournament, a shocking result on paper, but one foreshadowed by the team's poor group-stage performance. If you're a fan, find some consolation in the crop of electrifying young players—including Angel City's Alyssa Thompson, but also Sophia Smith, Trinity Rodman, Naomi Girma, and the injured Catarina Macario—who will no doubt be galvanized by this loss.
Moving On
There are still seven games to play in this tournament, and they promise some of the best football we've seen in a long time, or maybe ever, at a Women's World Cup. The quarterfinals kick off tomorrow night with a Spain/Netherlands match at 6:30 pm (join us at 33 Taps in Culver City or Silver Lake!). The Netherlands won their group, but are missing their best player, Arsenal forward Vivianne Miedema, and have looked lackluster all tournament. Spain, who dropped five on Switzerland in the Round of 18, are the favorites here.
Next up, at 12:30 am, is Japan/Sweden. Japan are the leading scorers in the tournament and Miyazawa is the current Golden Boot leader, but Sweden—as the USWNT knows all too well—know how to sit deep and defend, so they could pose real problems for the Nadeshiko.
The other half of the bracket kicks off at midnight on the 12th (i.e., late Friday night) with France/Australia, which looks like the biggest tossup of the round. An injury to Australia's talismanic Sam Kerr their first game threw a wrench in the Matildas' plans, but they've played well without her, and she saw ten minutes against Denmark. France, meanwhile, are playing as well as they ever have in a World Cup, but are famously snakebit when it comes to getting past the quarterfinals in major tournaments. Either way, one of these teams is making history.
Finally, there's England/Colombia at the godforsaken hour of 3:30 am. Las Cafeteras have been a dark horse in this tournament, with their gritty play earning them a 2–1 upset win over Germany and a ticket out of the group stage. England are the reigning European champions, but couldn't score on Nigeria in their last match, and their assist leader, Lauren James, will likely be serving a suspension for stomping on Michelle Alozie in that game ('likely' because the FA appealed her automatic one-game suspension, saying James was 'really sorry'), so I could see this one going either way.
