Well the intensity in Azerbaijan is only increasing as Group A concluded with the Canadians edging the hosts in what was a remarkably close game thanks in large part to the superior skills of the Azerbaijani keeper Aytaj Sharifova. Nevertheless, Valerie Sanderson eventually found the back of the net for the Canadians, early in the 2nd half. Meanwhile, Colombia were torn apart by the Nigerians with a 0-1 scoreline by the half and a 0-3 score at the end. Halimatu Ayinde struck in the 32nd and 75th minutes to give the Nigerians quite the lead. Diana Duarte's 80th minute own goal was just the last nail in the coffin as they go home with 3 points to their name. As for Group B, we were graced with quite the glorious exercise in how to play football (soccer): Gambia were routed 2-10 by the French in a game that stood 0-3 at the half. Pauline Cousin got things started for the French ladies in the 11th minute before Metta Sanneh struck an own goal against her team before Lea Declercq scored the first of her three goals in the 35th minute. Gambia actually showed well for themselves early on in the 2nd half, slotting home through Penda Bah in the 48th minute. Candice Gherbi put France back into a commanding position in the 53rd while Sainey Sissohore brought Gambia one back once more in just before the 70th minute. Thus it was 2-4 before Kadidiatou Diani and Griedge Mbock Bathy scored for France on either side of Lea Declercq's 2nd in the 78th. Pualine Cousin then struck her own 2nd, France's 8th, before Declercq completed her hat-trick in the 85th. Mariama Bojang's own goal at the last gasp was merely the icing on the cake for the French team, and the last point of a disappointing tournament for the Gambians. Meanwhile, in the other Group B game between the United States and North Korea little was resolved as they ended with their 1-1 1st half scoreline at full-time. Unfortunately for the Americans, Darian Jenkins' 2nd minute goal was all they had going for them as the North Koreans really captured the game after their 4th minute equalizer through the prolific Ri Un Sim. On to Group C now where Japan obliterated Mexico by a score of 9-0 with the game really decided at the half: 5-0 in favor of the Japanese. Risa Shimizu scored in the 8th while Yui Narumiya converted her 18th minute penalty. Akari Shiraki struck in the 22nd and 29th minutes while Ayaka Inoue scored in the 28th minute before half-time arrived. Inoue proceeded to tack on her 2nd, Japan's 6th, in the 56th. Hina Sugita struck in the 69th, Yuka Momiki added her own 10 minutes later while Mizuki Nakamura put the cherry on top with her 86th minute goal that sent Mexico home on a very very low. Meanwhile in New Zealand's match against Brazil we finally saw the real mettle of the South Americans: Emily Jensen gave the Kiwis the lead in the 4th minute. Byanca struck an equalizer in the 10th while Brena gave the Brazilians their first lead of the game in the 26th. Andressa slotted home her penalty in the 35th before New Zealand were able to draw one back in the 1st minute of stoppage time of the 1st half. This was through Ana Clara's own goal. Thus at the half the game was poised at a 2-3 scoreline. As the 2nd half began either side could have really drawn first blood however it was through Camila that the Brazilians finally broke the deadlock, extending their lead and forcing the women of New Zealand to get more and more offensive. Martine Puketapu was all to happy to accept the challenge, bringing the game to a 3-4 margin with her 77th minute goal for the Kiwis however it wasn't enough as the Brazilians held on for sweet victory! Last but not least we had Group D where Germany hammered Uruguay 5-2 despite the two sides being level 1-1 at the half! Sara Daebritz gave the Germans the lead in the 14th minute while Yamila Badell eventually equalized for the Uruguayans - in the 42nd minute. The 2nd half was when things got really interesting though as Rebecca Knaak, Ricarda Kiessling, and Sharon Beck struck in the 48th, 65th, and 80th minutes respectively to truly bury their South American competition. Yamila Badell's 87th minute goal for the Uruguayan women was a nice consolation however t really did nothing to affect their departure from the tournament. Last but certainly not least we had China v.s. Ghana. Both groups of women looked positively deadly in the lead-up to the game however Jane Ayieyam was the woman of the game with goals in the 18th and 88th minutes constituting the whole of the 0-2 affair as the team from Ghana progress to the next round. What of the next round? Well, with teams like Colombia, the United States, and the People's Republic of China falling out already, you might be wondering who actually did make it through. Well, Group A sees Nigeria and Canada go through with 7 points each. Over in Group B North Korea and France made it through on goal difference as both of them as well as the United States had 5 points to their names. As for Group C, the only group with a perfect winner, Japan and Brazil will move forward with 9 and 6 points respectively. Last but by no means least we have Group D where Germany and Ghana were the teams to qualify for the next round. Thus, Nigeria will take on France in the first Quarter-Final game. North Korea will then face the last remaining representative from North America in Canada as Japan and Ghana face off later that day. Germany's match with Brazil will most likely be very entertaining as well! Make sure to catch a couple of these games as they are sure to exhilarating!
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