The eight finalists for the Women's Soccer World Cup have all been named - Spain, Netherlands, Japan, Sweden, Australia, France, England and Colombia. European teams occupy five seats, representing a full rise to the top. Meanwhile, Japan and Australia continue to advance, defending the glory of Asian teams. The Colombian women's soccer team is the only "new" team in the top eight.
Women's World Cup quarterfinal matchups:
Aug. 11, 9 p.m.: Spain vs. the Netherlands
August 11, 15:30: Sweden vs. Japan
August 12, 15:00: Australia vs. France
August 12, 18:30: England vs. Colombia
China's women's soccer team, one of the traditional powerhouses of the World Cup and once a regular in the top eight, has indeed underperformed by not even making it to the knockout rounds. Due to the upheaval of the world landscape of women's soccer, this certainly cannot be blamed on the Chinese women's soccer team.
As defending champions, the U.S. women's soccer team has won the World Cup four times and dominated for a long time. First, it set a record for worst group stage finish, then stopped short of a top 16 finish. The team failed to advance to the top 8 for the first time in its history, setting the worst record for a World Cup in the team's history. In recent years, the U.S. women's soccer team has continued to eat away at its old capital and doesn't care about the full rise of European women's soccer teams. In particular, the level of soccer philosophy, technique and tactics has been surpassed, so an early exit is not surprising.
Oceania champions New Zealand women's soccer team, Africa champions Zambia women's soccer team, South America champions Brazil women's soccer team in addition to Asia Cup champions China women's soccer team and North and Central America champions U.S. women's soccer team, also failed to qualify for the World Cup's last eight.
Also, the Tokyo Olympics champion Canadian women's soccer team bid an early farewell to this World Cup in the group stage, just like the Chinese women's soccer team, the Brazilian women's soccer team and the Zambian women's soccer team.
Currently, in the top eight of the World Cup, only the European champions England continue to advance, reflecting the fact that the model of the women's soccer team has completely ushered in an era of great reshuffling. The Chinese women's soccer team has not progressed from traditional powerhouses such as the U.S. women's soccer team and the Brazilian women's soccer team, and the gap between the European women's soccer teams will grow wider.
In fact, the Chinese women's soccer team's loss in this group game was not really a strength. The Danish women's soccer team lost the battle of life and death due to wrong tactical layout and employment disputes. As a coach, Shui Qingxia has a great responsibility and limited ability to lead the team to an international tournament for the first time.
According to a report in the domestic media, Daily News, a national team player who had stayed in China felt neglected by head coach Shui Qingxia during the Women's World Cup, did not comply with the coaching staff's arrangements and refused to take part in warm-up activities. This kind of team problem needs to be resolved by the Chinese women's soccer coaching staff as soon as possible, or it could have an impact on the quest for Olympic qualification.
