In the exciting Women's World Cup Round of 16 Knockout Round, Japan managed to beat Norway 3-1 to advance to the last eight. Next, they will face a showdown with the winner of the USA team for a place in the quarterfinals. Meanwhile, Spain beat Switzerland by a huge margin of 5-1 to set up a match against the winner of the Netherlands or South Africa in the next round.
As the champion team in 2011, Japan showed unparalleled strength by winning all three matches in the group stage, scoring 11 goals and conceding none. Japan's strength continued in this match, with a 1-0 lead in the first 15 minutes after a mistake by Ngek Anjin turned into an accidental oval goal. The Norwegian team then launched an overhead attack five minutes later, with Guro Leiden scoring a header to equalize the score at 1-1, the first goal Japan had conceded in the tournament.
