The final matches of the second round of group play will play out Saturday. Let’s have a look:
Group F – France (1-0-0) vs Colombia (0-0-1)
Saturday, 1 p.m. EDT
Moncton Stadium, Moncton
WATCH LIVE ON NBCDEPORTES.COM (also on Telemundo)
France opened by beating England in what was supposed to be their most difficult group match. But where England spent much of that match sitting in, Colombia’s tactics were more physical and they committed several egregious fouls in their opening draw against Mexico. A funny thing happened in the second half, though. Colombia tried playing soccer and actually looked decent, eventually earning an equalizer for their first goal in four Women’s World Cup matches. Will they resort to hacking tactics if they fall too far behind or find themselves unable to keep up with France in midfield? As for the French, they took some heat for “only” winning 1-0 in a match they dominated. They’ll be looking for something a bit more comfortable here. A win will send them through.
[MORE: Complete coverage of 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup]
Group E – Brazil (1-0-0) vs Spain (0-0-1)
Saturday, 4 p.m. EDT
Olympic Stadium, Montreal
WATCH LIVE ON NBCDEPORTES.COM
Fans of technical soccer ought to pay attention to this one as two of the world’s best will square off. Marta’s penalty in Brazil’s win against Korea Republic made her the all-time leading World Cup scorer. Veronica Boquete’s performance in Spain’s 1-1 draw against Costa Rica was her World Cup debut. She has several moments of brilliance but Spain could not break through for a second goal after their opener was quickly countered. These teams play rather similar which does not usually bode well for the underdog, in this case Spain. If Brazil wins it books them a ticket to the knockout round and if it combines with a Costa Rica-Korea Republic draw it will clinch them the group.
Group F – England (0-1-0) vs Mexico (0-0-1)
Saturday, 4 p.m. EDT
Moncton Stadium, Moncton
WATCH LIVE ON NBCDEPORTES.COM (also on Telemundo)
England played passively against France and lost 1-0. Probably no big deal because they should win their next two matches, but now they have to go out and earn the points. At times Mexico looked quite good against Colombia but then they let go of the game plan and allowed their opponents to control too much of the second half. If England sits back again they could find themselves in trouble, but if they play it straight they should prove their superiority.
Group E – Korea Republic (0-1-0) vs Costa Rica (0-0-1)
Saturday, 7 p.m. EDT
Olympic Stadium, Montreal
WATCH LIVE ON NBCDEPORTES.COM
South Korea will be looking to get Ji Soyun involved much earlier than they did against Brazil. When she was on the ball her team was dangerous against Brazil. And they could borrow some tactics from Spain who ran their offense through Boquete in a performance against Costa Rica that was dominant in every way besides the scoreboard. This is a pivotal match as both sides have eyes on the knockout stage but are scuffling for points after opening matches. Costa Rica, in particular, probably needs to win with Brazil looming in the final group match.
