The final games of the round of 16 saw Jamaica and Colombia battle it out in Melbourne and France and Morocco come together in Adelaide to determine the two final places in the Quarter Finals.
COLOMBIA v JAMAICA
Colombia made history becoming the second ever South American country to progress to the Quarter Finals, after Brazil, when they defeated Jamaica 1-0.
It was an intense game from start to finish, with both teams finding opportunities to score that they just could not convert on in the first half.
Minutes into the second half saw Colombia finally break the deadlock through their captain Catalina Usme, who’s curling shot was assisted by Ana Guzman’s huge ball that switched the sides of play before Jamaica could even realise.
This goal was the first and only one Jamaica have conceded during the entire tournament, they went 322 minutes without being scored on, a testament to their incredible defence and pinpoint goalkeeping through Becky Spencer.
Despite going no further in the World Cup, Jamaica exit with their heads held high as the first Caribbean nation to make it to the round of 16, and doing so with minimal support from their own federation, as they crowd sourced the funding to get to Australia.
Colombia now head to the quarters for the first time, where they will face England on the 12th of August at Stadium Australia in Sydney, with kick-off slated for 8:30pm AEST.
FRANCE v MOROCCO
France have cruised to the Quarter-finals, dealing efficiently with newcomers to the Women’s World Cup Morocco in a 4-0 win.
The scoring opened with Kadidiatou Diani’s header delivered by Sakina Karchaoui in the 15th minute, followed by Kenza Dali in the 20th minute, and then Eugenie Le Sommer found her first goal of the evening just three minutes later.
While it was a tough night for tournament first-timers Morocco, they should be proud of their defence in the second half, as they kept France at bay for a majority of the second 45. Eugenie Le Sommer was still able to find her second goal in the 70th minute, but Morocco clearly stepped up their performance.
Morocco will go no further in the tournament, but they will forever be known as the first team to debut in the Women’s World Cup and make it all the way to the Round of 16 in their first appearance. Moroccan defender Nouhaila Benzina also became the first player to wear a hijab at the event.
France will now go on to play tournament hosts Australia in their quarter-final game, a repeat of Australia’s send-off game that happened days before the World Cup began, which Australia won 1-0.
The game will be played at Brisbane Stadium on the 12th of August, kicking off at 5:00pm AEST.