An exciting battle is on the horizon as hosts Australia go head-to-head with France in the Women's World Cup Round of 8 for a place in the quarter-finals.
Looking back on Australia's 2-3 loss against Nigeria in the group stage, the team seemed to have found a new energy and was firmly in control of the game against Denmark in the Round of 16.
Stakhani and Catherine Forte have been particularly impressive on the left, and I'm convinced that France's right-hander Biresse and his teammates will have a tough time against Arsenal's duo of stars on the wing.
On the right, the Kangaroos have Hayley Russo, who scored a crucial second goal in the previous match to help her team knock out Denmark 2-0. And Marikona, who opened the scoring, is also heavily involved in organizing the attack and has been superb in the absence of Senkal.
Returning from Chelsea, striker Senkal is back to fitness and her return certainly strengthens Australia's side. While I'm not sure if she'll start, as a world-class scorer, she could come on as a substitute at any time and cause problems for veteran French center Lennart and the rest of the defense.
On the other side, France advanced to the last eight of the Women's World Cup for the fourth time in its history after thrashing Morocco 4-0 in the round of 16.
I think France's two-wing attack will be a tough test for the Australian defense, so the Kangaroos will have to stop Janessa Daly and Silma Bacha from making effective passes to Diane and Eugenia Nassenma on offense.
French strikers Diane and Eugenia Nassenma have combined for seven goals, and both are in hot form, confident of converting any chance that comes their way.
