SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – Japan has beaten Norway to reach the quarterfinals of the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia-New Zealand 2023.Japan, ranked 카지노사이트 11th in the FIFA Women’s Rankings, defeated Norway, ranked 12th, 3-1 in the round of 16 at Wellington Regional Stadium in Wellington, New Zealand, on Friday .It is the first time in eight years that Japan has reached the quarterfinals after winning the Women’s World Cup in 2011 and finishing runner-up in 2015 before falling in the round of 16 at the 2019 tournament in France. Japan, who topped Group C with wins over Zambia (5-0), Costa Rica (2-0) and Spain (4-0), conceded their first goal of the tournament on the day, but continued their upward trajectory with another prolific performance .Japan will play the winner of the Sweden-U.S. Round of 16 match (Saturday) for a spot in the semifinals on Nov. 11 in Auckland, New Zealand. Meanwhile, Norway, winners of the 1995 tournament, were trying to reach the quarterfinals for the second straight time following the 2019 tournament (where they were eliminated in the quarterfinals).Japan took the lead in the 15th minute through an own goal by Norway. Hinata Miyazawa’s cross from the left flank was cleared off the line by Norway’s Ingrid Surstad Engen, who stretched out her leg inside the penalty area and the ball hit her foot and headed into the net. It ended up being an own goal as Norwegian goalkeeper Aurora Mikkalsen was in a difficult position to stop it. Norway equalized late in the first 20 minutes when Kuro Leiten headed home a cross from Bilde Boe Lisa on the right flank to make it 1-1 at halftime .I n the second half, the Norwegian defense was caught flat-footed by Japan’s early attacks, and Japan reaped the rewards early on. Five minutes into the second half, Japan’s Risa Shimizu intercepted a pass in the center of the penalty area, and her right-footed shot rattled the net .A flurry of shots from Norway failed to find the back of the net or beat the goalkeeper, and Miyazawa’s goal in the 36th minute on a Japanese counterattack sealed the victory. Miyazawa became the tournament’s all-time leading scorer with her fifth goal. Earlier in the day at Auckland’s Eden Park, Spain (No. 6 in the FIFA rankings) beat Switzerland (No. 20) 5-1 in the round of 16 to reach their highest-ever finish, surpassing their last 16 appearance at the 2019 tournament .Switzerland, who topped Group A with one win, two draws and a clean sheet to reach the round of 16 for the second time in their history (2015), ended the tournament with a loss .Spain will play the winner of the Netherlands-South Africa Round of 16 match (June 6) in the quarterfinals on June 11.After taking the lead through Haitian Bonmati in the fifth minute of the first half, Spain conceded an own goal in the 11th minute when a backpass from central defender Leia Cordina turned into an own goal .However, Spain regained the lead in the 17th minute when Redondo headed in a cross 카지노사이트 from the left flank by Ona Batier. In a one-sided affair, Spain took a 4-1 lead at halftime as Bonmati completed his hat-trick in the 36th minute and Cordina scored his ‘atonement’ in the 45th minute with his right foot in the midst of a scramble after a corner kick. Switzerland, who were held to ‘zero shots’ in the first half, looked like they might make a comeback with their first shot of the game in the 11th minute of the second half, but were sunk by a fifth goal from Spain’s Henifer Hermoso in the 25th minute.
