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The group stage at the World Cup is winding down, with Group C taking the stage today. Italy, who have impressed thus far, take on a Brazil side that may be in trouble after letting a 2-0 lead turn into a loss against Australia. Those same Matildas, featuring Washington Spirit midfielders Chloe Logarzo and Amy Harrison, take on Jamaica, who have a Spirit player of their own in the form of forward Cheyna Matthews.
Update 4:59pm: Sam Kerr scored all four goals for the Matildas, who were mostly reliant on Jamaican let-downs at the back to win 4-1. The goals take Kerr into a tie with Alex Morgan atop the World Cup goalscoring table, with 5 in total. However, the moment of the match was Jamaica getting their first-ever World Cup goal, with former Spirit midfielder Havana Solaun rounding Lydia Williams after some great work from Bunny Shaw to send her through:
HISTORY FOR JAMAICA!
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) June 18, 2019
Havana Solaun scores the Reggae Girlz' first-ever #FIFAWWC goal, off the nice Bunny Shaw assist. pic.twitter.com/xpgyUxRPc5
In the other game, Marta’s 74th minute penalty kick was enough for Brazil to defeat Italy in an even game in Grenoble. Despite the win, Brazil fell to 3rd in the group, as Kerr’s fourth goal left them and Australia level on points and goal difference. The tiebreaker? Australia has scored 8 goals, two more than Brazil, and that will set them up as the group runners-up.
For the knockout rounds, that means Australia will face Group A runners-up Norway. Italy and Brazil must both await the point totals for all other groups, as the top four 3rd place teams will be sorted to avoid teams from the same group facing each other again too soon. On 6 points, Brazil is assured of one of those four 3rd place spots in the Round of 16.
Update 3:54pm: Australia leads Jamaica 2-0 thanks to two Sam Kerr headers. It hasn’t been a convincing performance, with Jamaica getting into a couple of good spots in the box, but the Reggae Girlz have been unable to cope with Kerr on crosses.
In the other game, Italy and Brazil are tied 0-0, with both teams going close. Barbara Bonansea was denied by a stellar save from Barbara (no, I’m not repeating myself, they’re both Barbara), while at the other end Debinha was robbed of a potential Best Goal winner:
INCREDIBLE!
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) June 18, 2019
Debinha attempts a brilliant back-heel flick off Marta's corner, but Laura Giuliani tips it over the bar!
Save of the tournament? #FIFAWWC pic.twitter.com/PLBe5DVY9s
As things stand, Italy would win the group on 7 points, with Australia in 2nd on 6 and Brazil (4 points) assured of a spot in the Round of 16 as one of the top four 3rd place teams.
Let’s start with a game that could see Brazil end up winning the group, or sitting in 3rd place, waiting to see if they even advance at all. Just before halftime in their game against Australia, Brazil’s incredible 16-year streak of not even giving up a group stage goal was still intact, and it looked like they were going to cruise into the knockout round.
However, once Caitlin Foord scored in first half stoppage time, the wheels came off, and it’s fair to wonder how Brazil will react. They’ll also have to make due without veteran defensive midfielder Formiga, who is suspended after picking up yellow cards in each of the first two games.
Italy are on a rather different trajectory right now. They came from 1-0 down to Australia, getting a deserved winner deep into stoppage time, and then rode that momentum to a 5-0 win over Jamaica. They’ve advanced already, but a win today would assure them of a seemingly easier game in the knockout round. The winner in Group C will face either China or Nigeria in the next round, while 2nd place means playing Norway.
Location: Stade du Hainaut (Valenciennes)
Kickoff time: 3:00pm Eastern
Available TV: Fox Sports 1, NBC Universo
Available streaming: If you subscribe to fuboTV via this link, your friends at B&RU get some cash!
Here are your other options: Fox Sports Go, Fox Soccer Match Pass, Telemundo Deportes En Vivo, NBC Universo Now
In the Alps, Jamaica will take on Australia in the group’s other game. For the Jamaicans, the task is simple, but that’s not to say it’s easy. To maintain any hope of going through, they would need to beat Australia by at least 4 goals to move up to 3rd place in the group, and most likely would need a slightly larger margin of victory than that to get one of the four knockout round spots for 3rd place teams.
That task would already be very difficult, but there’s reason to believe that Australia has found some belief after their comeback win against Brazil. While the Aussie defense is still pretty questionable — moving left back Steph Catley into the middle has a distinct “emergency measure” feel rather than being a permanent solution — their strength in midfield and up top still leave them as heavy favorites to win by a healthy margin here. The Matildas can still win the group, with the most viable scenario being a 4-5 goal win over Jamaica combined with Brazil beating Italy 2-0.
As long as that’s possible, look for Australia to be storming forward at full speed looking to hold up their end of the bargain.
Location: Stade des Alpes (Grenoble)
Kickoff time: 3:00pm Eastern
Available TV: Fox Sports 2
Available streaming: If you subscribe to fuboTV via this link, your friends at B&RU get some cash!
Here are your other options: Fox Sports Go, Fox Soccer Match Pass, Telemundo Deportes En Vivo
For listings in other countries, check out LiveSoccerTV.com.
What are you drinking?: It looks like it’ll be really humid and unpleasant tomorrow, so at 3 in the afternoon, I’m probably going with a can of Polar grapefruit seltzer.
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