Norway ousts Australia on penalties, Women’s World Cup: Live stream, game time thread, how to watch

The Women’s World Cup has entered the knockout stage, with Germany and Nigeria kicking off the Round of 16 today in Grenoble, followed by an enticing clash between Norway and Australia.

Update 6:56pm: After 120 minutes could not separate them, Norway eliminated Australia 4-1 on penalties. Isabell Herlovsen put Norway in the lead in the first half, but Australia capped off a long spell of pressure with an 83rd minute equalizer courtesy of Elise Kellond-Knight’s Olimpico from a corner.

Alanna Kennedy was controversially sent off in extra time, but the Matildas held on thanks in part to several top-notch Lydia Williams saves. Their luck ran out in the tiebreaker, though, as Norway converted all of their penalties, while Sam Kerr fired well over and Emily Gielnik had her attempt saved by Ingrid Hjelmseth.

Norway will face the winner of England vs. Cameroon next Thursday in Le Havre.

Update 1:28pm: Germany advanced without too much trouble, defeating Nigeria 3-0. First half goals from Alexandra Popp and Sara Däbritz (the latter with a VAR-assisted penalty) set the Germans on their way. Though Nigeria arguably had the better of the second half, a disastrous giveaway handed Lea Schüller an 82nd minute goal to end any hopes of a Super Falcons comeback.

Benefiting from being in an optimal place within the bracket, Germany now gets a full week to recover before taking on the winner of Sweden vs. Canada next Saturday in Rennes.

Coming into the World Cup, a Norway-Australia Round of 16 pairing would have probably left most people needing little thought to pick the Matildas to advance. Australia entered the tournament as a trendy dark horse pick, while the main story about Norway involved Ada Hegerberg’s continued refusal to accept the standards within the national team.

Instead, we’ve seen Norway look solid, intelligent, and resourceful all over the field, and they have game-breaking players in Caroline Graham Hansen and Guro Reiten (don’t say we didn’t warn you about her). They’re the kind of team that can trouble anyone in the tournament, as France can confirm from their narrow 2-1 win in the group stage.

Australia, featuring Spirit midfielders Chloe Logarzo and Amy Harrison, were quite poor in their tournament opener, then fell behind 2-0 against Brazil before putting together an inspired fightback to keep themselves alive. Their 4-1 win over Jamaica was mostly about Sam Kerr being Sam friggin’ Kerr in the box, but the Reggae Girlz gave a very suspect Aussie back four trouble. Norway is a lot better than Jamaica, so what we’re getting at here is that the Matildas might be in big trouble.

On the other hand, they’ve still got Kerr, and her unrivaled goalscoring ability means they might be able to keep winning without actually playing well.

Location: Allianz Riviera (Nice)

Kickoff time: 3:00pm Eastern

Available TV: Fox

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

The Germans, despite not really ever hitting their very best form in Group B, are heavy, heavy favorites to push past the Super Falcons. However, with Dzsenifer Maroszan almost certainly out for another game after breaking a toe in their opener, there is the possibility that Nigeria can frustrate the Germans and hit them on the counter.

That might sound unlikely, given that Nigeria only advanced to get this game thanks to Chile hitting the crossbar with an 86th minute penalty kick. But, let’s not forget that Nigeria probably deserved a 0-0 draw against France in their last game, only for the current, extremely dubious penalty kick rules to hand the French a second chance that they didn’t waste. Nigeria’s front three (including former Washington Spirit forward Francisca Ordega) is built to punish teams on the break; if their midfield and defense can hold up, an upset will be possible.

As this is a Frannylovers-friendly site, we’re hoping that’s how it goes.

Location: Stade des Alpes (Grenoble)

Kickoff time: 11:30am Eastern

Available TV: Fox Sports 1, Telemundo

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?: I will be driving during the early game, so probably nothing. During the second game, I’ll be at a bar drinking San Pellegrino or whatever sparkling water is available, because as soon as that game ends, I’m off to the Plex for the Spirit game tonight.

This is the place for all your pre-game, in-game, and post-game discussion.

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