New Zealand made history by winning their first ever Women's World Cup Final Week match in their opening match. Now they face the Philippines, who are in their first ever final week, and have a great opportunity to qualify for the Round of 16.
New Zealand, the co-hosts of this year's Finals Week, performed well against Norway and definitely deserved to win the game. They were already under pressure at home, and their first match was against the former World Cup champions Norway, but the fans cheered for the team and gave them their full support, which ultimately activated the team. After a great sequence of play by New Zealand, Hannah Wedgenson made the last kick and put the ball into the net, helping the team to beat Norway 1:0. She will once again be the center of the team's attack, and the Philippines will have to watch out for her in the penalty area.
Against the Norwegian onslaught, captain Arieli will lead her teammates to resist the Philippine's attack with her outstanding performance in the backfield. As for the 12-yarder in the last game, Berthold will again be in the center of the field to lead his teammates to the goal of the Philippines.
For a team making their debut in the Women's World Cup finals, I think the Philippines did pretty well to only lose 0-2 against Switzerland, so I'm sure they'll be pretty happy with that. They would have been close to getting on the scoreboard if Carlina Guru hadn't had her goal disallowed by the assistant referee for offside, but I think they'll have more time on the ball against New Zealand this time around. Strikers Kareena Guru and Salina Boldin will be looking for their first ever goals in the final week of the World Cup.
However, with New Zealand's confidence and morale high, Filipino goalkeeper Davies McDaniel is expected to be busy again this time around after making a series of brilliant saves against Switzerland.
