Women's World Cup bracket and knockout round schedule

The women’s World Cup knockout round is set to begin, starting with two intriguing round-of-16 matchups on Saturday in New Zealand: Switzerland against Spain and Japan against Norway. Either Switzerland or Spain will make its first appearance in the quarterfinals, while Japan and Norway are both former champions, Japan in 2011 and Norway in 1995.

The U.S. women’s national team, the event’s two-time defending champion, returns to action Sunday against Sweden in Melbourne, Australia.

All days and times Eastern.

Switzerland and Spain will kick off the knockout round, and they’re entering this match off very different results. The Swiss were impenetrable in the group stage, not allowing a single goal, while Spain looked lost in a 4-0 loss to Japan in their group stage finale. “It’s normal that we’re feeling angry and annoyed, as things haven’t gone right,” Spain Coach Jorge Vilda said, via FIFA.com.

Japan was the second team not to allow a goal in the group stage. (Jamaica was the last.) Hinata Miyazawa is the only player still in the tournament with four goals, and is listed as one of the new favorites to win the Golden Boot. Norway was a semifinalist in four of the first five women’s World Cups, but hasn’t returned to that stage since 2007.

Late Saturday night Eastern time (Sunday in Australia), the Netherlands will face South Africa. The Netherlands finished as the runner-up to the United States in 2019, while South Africa is past the group stage for the first time.

The U.S. women’s national team is back in action Sunday, playing for its tournament life against Sweden at 5 a.m. Eastern. And midfielder Rose Lavelle, the team’s most creative player, will miss the match because of a yellow-card suspension. Players said this week that they recognize the shortfalls of their performances thus far, but remain confident about making a deep run in the tournament.

“We are not panicking,” forward Lynn Williams said in a news conference. “We haven’t played our best soccer yet, which is the most exciting part for us.”

Sweden is a longtime U.S. nemesis. The Americans have faced the Swedes 42 times, although this will be the first time they have squared off in the knockout round. In the past two decades, the United States won just 12 of 24 games against Sweden. That’s the worst win rate among the 10 opponents the Americans have played at least 15 times during that stretch.

As the U.S. has struggled to score in this tournament, analysts have wondered if there are major adjustments yet to be made.

Here’s a look at the rest of the tournament’s schedule. All dates and times Eastern.

The group stage saved its biggest shocker for last. Germany, a former champion and the No. 2-ranked team in the world, was eliminated after a 1-1 draw with South Korea. That left Colombia as the winner of Group H, and Morocco as the second team through.

Earlier, France overpowered Panama to win Group F, and Jamaica advanced on the strength of a 0-0 draw with Brazil. Sweden took care of business against Argentina to win Group G and secure a round-of-16 meeting with the United States, while South Africa beat Italy to clinch second place in Group G.

South Africa will next meet the Netherlands, which routed Vietnam to finish first in Group E. That left the two-time defending champion U.S. women’s national team in second, and with a far harder road ahead. England overpowered China, 6-1, to win Group D, while Denmark defeated Haiti to finish second.

In Group C, Japan beat Spain to win finish first but both teams advanced to the round of 16. Tournament co-host Australia smashed Canada to claim Group B, while Nigeria finished second after its draw with Ireland.

Group A was the first to wrap up. Switzerland, yet to concede a goal, clinched first with a 0-0 draw against New Zealand, while heavyweight Norway took second after dispatching the Philippines.