Women’s World Cup Group Stage: Match Day Two Reaction
Photo Credit: Cameron Spencer / Getty Images
WELLINGTON, New Zealand - Much like the first match day, the second round of group stage games gifted fans a lot of action. A few players and moments stood out from the rest.
Best Player: Amanda Ilestedt (Sweden)
It’s not every game that a center-back is able to score two goals, but that’s exactly what happened for Amanda Ilestedt against Italy. In Sweden’s latest game, Ilestedt tallied two headers to help Sweden overcome Italy, 5-0.
Best Goal: Katie McCabe vs Canada
There were numerous excellent goals this matchday (including Linda Caicedo’s against Germany), but the winner of this award has to be McCabe’s goal directly from a corner to give Ireland the lead against Canada. Although Ireland ended up losing the tilt, there is no taking away the skill and ability that resulted in McCabe’s goal.
Best Team: Colombia
While there were a lot of dominant victories in the second matchday of the group stage, one cannot look past Colombia’s impressive performance against one of the favorites in Germany. Many teams would’ve settled for a point against Germany, but not Colombia, as they kept pushing and got their reward in the form of a last-minute winner.
Best Match: Colombia 2-1 Germany
This match had everything: an amazing goal, last minute winner and an upset. It would take a massive fight for Colombia to overcome a Germany side that had not lost a group stage game since 1995, and that’s exactly what Colombia got. Linda Caicedo continued her hot start to the World Cup, scoring a beautiful goal to give Colombia a 1-0 lead. Overall, this game was incredible and a deserved win for Colombia.
Biggest Upcoming Match: Jamaica vs Brazil
This match might not seem like a big one, but it has the potential to have a massive influence on Group F. If Jamaica gets even a point against Brazil, they could move onto the Round of 16. Jamaica will come into this game with a lot of confidence after tying France and getting their first World Cup win against Panama. Brazil will be tough, though, and will look to bounce back from their 2-1 defeat against France. Make sure to tune into this match on Wednesday at 6:00 a.m. EDT.
