Their opponents in the last 16 were Japan, who had contested the previous two finals. Though the Dutch were appearing in only their second Women’s World Cup, they were among the favourites following their UEFA Women’s EURO 2017 triumph. Netherlands 2-1 Japan 25 June 2019, Rennes The men in red went on to beat Brazil in the quarters before losing to France and eventually placing third, their best-ever World Cup finish. With the Belgians sensing one last opportunity, De Bruyne fed Thomas Meunier, whose low pass into the box was dummied by Romelu Lukaku, allowing Nacer Chadli to calmly side-foot the winner. Undeterred, Japan forced a corner in the fourth minute of stoppage time, though the ball was comfortably collected by Thibaut Courtois, who rolled it out to Kevin de Bruyne. Jan Vertonghen reduced the gap with a 69th-minute header before Marouane Fellaini nodded in to level the tie five minutes later. Just when it seemed the Japanese were poised for a place in the last eight for the first time in their history, the Red Devils responded.
Yet that is what Belgium achieved after Genki Haraguchi and Takashi Inui had fired Japan into a 2-0 lead just after half-time in this last-16 meeting. Not since Mexico 1970, when Germany beat England 3-2 in the quarter-finals, had any side come from two goals down to win a World Cup knockout match. The shootout proved to be a nightmare for the United States, as Shannon Boxx, Carli Lloyd and Heath all missed, leaving Saki Kumagai to stroke home from the spot to seal a maiden world title for Japan.īelgium 3-2 Japan 2 June 2018, Rostov-on-Don Aya Miyama scored their first equaliser and then Homare Sawa popped up with three minutes of extra time remaining to take the match to penalties. Yet the Nadeshiko had a response on both occasions. The Stars and Stripes’ greater expertise seemed to weigh in their favour when they twice took the lead, first through Morgan in normal time and then through Wambach in the second period of extra time. Facing them there were Japan, who had beaten Germany and Sweden after qualifying from the group phase for the first time since 1995. They returned to the final in Germany, however, thanks to a generation combining the experience of Abby Wambach, Hope Solo and Christie Rampone and the youth of Alex Morgan, Tobin Heath and Megan Rapinoe. Winners of two of the first three Women’s World Cups, in 19, the USA had lost in the semi-finals at the previous two tournaments. Japan 2-2 USA (Japan win 3-1 on penalties) 17 July 2011, Frankfurt Making the most of their reprieve, La Celeste won the resulting shoot-out. The resulting spot-kick provided the African side with a gilt-edged opportunity to make the last four, but Asamoah Gyan spurned the chance, blasting the ball against the crossbar. With 121 minutes on the clock and the match heading for a penalty shoot-out, Luis Suarez was sent off when he handled on the line to deny the Ghanaians a certain goal.
Urged on by the crowd and their vuvuzelas, the Black Stars opened the scoring through Sulley Muntari, only for Diego Forlan to equalise and take the game into extra time. Ghana took on Uruguay in the quarter-finals of South Africa 2010 with the hope of becoming the first African nation to reach a World Cup semi-final.
Uruguay 1-1 Ghana (Uruguay win 4-2 on penalties) 2 July 2010, Johannesburg Ten games from six senior World Cups stick outįIFA.com digs into the decade's most memorable match-upsĭo you remember the time before Spain became FIFA World Cup™ champions and Japan lifted the FIFA Women’s World Cup™? A world where Kylian Mbappe and Mallory Pugh were only 11?įootball has changed a great deal in the last decade, and to emphasise the point looks at ten men’s and women’s World Cup matches that have made their mark on the game in the last ten years. The 2010s saw triumphs for Spain, Japan, Germany, USA and France
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