Brazil’s quest for perfection in the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup is still very much alive after a narrow one-goal win against Costa Rica on Wednesday. Things are bound to get tougher for the South Americans, though, as standing in their way in the round of 16 are the high-flying Australians who successfully escaped the much-dreaded Group of Death.
Who will emerge victorious in this much-anticipated showdown? Read on below for an in-depth breakdown of this knockout clash and while you’re at it, you can check out our World Cup round of 16 previews of USA vs. Colombia and Canada vs. Switzerland.
Brazil will head to its round-of-16 showdown with Australia with momentum on its side after recording a 1-0 win over Costa Rica on Wednesday. A late Raquel goal sent Brazil through to the knockout stages as one of only two teams on maximum points.
[sc:Soccer240banner ]Key to Brazil’s strong start in this tournament has been their stingy defense. They are the only nation in this competition that has yet to concede a single goal. That being said, they will have their work cut out for them against an Australian side that has already scored four goals this campaign.
For Brazil to preserve its unblemished record against Australia, it needs to monopolize the possession once again. Thanks to their stellar play in midfield, the Brazilians have managed to control the possession game in their opening three matches. They controlled 62% of the ball in their opening group game against South Korea, followed by their 58% output against Spain. They capped it off in grand style against Costa Rica, controlling 64% of the possession on Wednesday.
That dominance has enabled Brazil to impose its will on the offensive end in this tournament. They have outshot their opponents by a whopping 47-19 margin thus far. Brazil, however, has struggled to convert those chances into goals, as it has scored just four times in the group stages.
That being said, Brazil will fancy its chances of beating Australia and advancing into the quarterfinals this coming Sunday. The Brazilians are 2-0 against the Matildas in their head-to-head matches. Brazil defeated Australia, 1-0, in their group-stage encounter in the 2011 World Cup.
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Betting on Australia
Australia barged into the second round of the 2015 Women’s World Cup after sealing a hard-fought 1-1 draw against Sweden on Tuesday. That’s now the third straight time that the Matildas have advanced past the group stage in this competition.
Providing the inspiration for Australia’s great escape from the Group of Death was captain Lisa De Vanna. She scored a stunning fifth-minute strike to give Australia the early 1-0 lead against Sweden. Although that advantage didn’t last long, that goal proved to be enough for Australia to seal its passage to the next round.
De Vanna has been phenomenal for the Matildas in this tournament, doing a little bit of everything on both ends of the pitch. She has already scored two goals in this competition which is an amazing feat considering she’s playing through a severe ankle injury. Australia will need more of the same from De Vanna if they are to upset Brazil in the round of 16.
It will take more than De Vanna, though, for Australia to grab a shock result against Brazil. With Brazil expected to dominate possession in their upcoming match, it’s crucial for the Matildas to be one solid unit in both defense and midfield. They already showed they can pull off such a display in their last match against Sweden where they successfully thwarted a bullish Swede attack.
Even though the Brazilians have yet to concede in this tournament, their backline has shown signs of vulnerability particularly in the wide areas. The onus is on De Vanna and Sam Kerr to take advantage of this fact and hit Brazil on the counter-attack. They need to deliver killer balls to the in-form Kyah Simon who has already bagged two goals this campaign.
