By David Gold
August 1 – World champions Japan were held to a goalless draw by South Africa last night, meaning they will face Brazil in a mouthwatering London 2012 women’s football quarter-final match.
The game (pictured top) between the two is a difficult one to call, with both chasing a first Olympic gold medal.
A clash in the Kirin Cup earlier this year between the pair ended 4-1 to the world champions.
Unusually, Japan played to avoid winning the group, their coach Norio Sasaki revealed afterwards – in an effort to avoid having to play a quarter-final in Glasgow.
“I feel sorry we couldn’t show a respectable game, but it’s my responsibility, not the players, why the game was like that.
“It was important for us not to move to Glasgow.”
Japan’s draw at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff meant that Sweden won their group, in spite of giving away a two-goal lead against Canada.
Marie Hammarström and Sofia Jakobsson (pictured above, in yellow) put Sweden 2-0 up, but Melissa Tancredi scored just before half-time and then with five minutes left at St James’ Park in Newcastle.
Canada now meet Britain in another intriguing quarter-final, after the hosts beat Brazil 1-0 at Wembley – the only goal coming in the second minute with a strike from Steph Houghton.
Britain coach Hope Powell hailed Houghton, who has scored in every match so far: “I don’t know if Steph is in line for the Golden Boot, but I do not look at her as the Gareth Bale of women’s football because she’s a goalscoring left-back.
“Maybe Bale is the Steph Houghton of the men’s game.”
“When I talk on the sidelines, the players can usually hear me, but the atmosphere was so fantastic it was an excuse for them to ignore me,” she added, commenting on the raucous atmosphere at Wembley.
The other game in the group saw New Zealand defeat Cameroon 3-1 at the City of Coventry Stadium.
Rebecca Smith, an own goal from Ysis Sonkeng, and Sarah Gregorius (pictured above) put New Zealand 3-0 up before a late strike from Gabrielle Onguene for Cameroon.
New Zealand will now face the reigning champions United States in their last eight clash.
The United States (US) and North Korea have been firm enemies in the political world for the last 60 years, but on the field hostilities were settled by an Abby Wambach (pictured below, in blue) strike at Old Trafford in Manchester.
Sin Ui-Gun, the Korean coach, said that defeat to the US was particularly hard to take, admitting that it was worse than losing 5-0 to France in their previous game.
“We all think that when we play the United States we should not lose, we should win,” he lamented.
“That is what we normally think.”
Élodie Thomis scored early on for France at St James’ Park to give them a 1-0 win over Colombia and edge out the North Koreans for second spot.
France will meet Sweden in an all-European quarter-final, with both sides looking in good shape and dark horses for gold.
The two met at last year’s World Cup in the third place play-off, which the Swedes won 2-1.
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