Sweden ends Japan's run to ensure World Cup will have first-time winners, meet Spain in the semis
World Cup of change, of unexpected early departures and tantalizing arrivals, has completed its upending of certainty and tradition. No former champion remains in the tournament with two rounds to play. Gone prematurely are the United States, with its four world championships, and Germany, with two.
Ousted are Norway, the 1995 victor. And now Japan, the 2011 winner, have exited in the quarterfinals with a 2-1 defeat to Sweden on Friday. Of course, it would be highly inaccurate to consider Sweden an arriviste.
They have participated in all nine Women’s World Cups, finishing second in 2003 and third three times. But they have never won a major tournament and long to be a first time champion. Sweden will face Spain in the semifinals after smothering Japan’s versatile attack through the first half with a high press.
They built what seemed to be a secure lead early in the second half by scoring twice indirectly on their specialty — set pieces. Japan, who had scored 14 goals in their first four matches and seemed to be the best team in the tournament, did not manage a shot in the first half. They created furious chances in the second half but will long regret a missed penalty in the 75th minute.
Sweden’s victory, Spain’s first trip to the semifinals and Japan’s exit seemed in keeping with the spirit of this World Cup with the tournament’s biggest-ever field, the highest attendance at this stage and the most receptive embrace of the newly-risen teams like Colombia, Jamaica, Nigeria, South Africa and Morocco. Finally, Fifa can begin to say with some legitimacy that the Women’s World Cup suggests an event of global, not merely regional or entrenched, possibility. The other side of the draw is a similar re-flection of that growth:
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