Japan will take on the Netherlands to claim the only quarter-final slot left in the ongoing FIFA Women's World Cup with seven teams having already progressed through to the last eight. The last pre-quarter-final match will be held at BC Place Stadium, Vancouver on Tuesday night.
Japan have been clinical in their performances with three wins on a trot in the group C, which also included Cameroon, Switzerland and Ecuador as the other three teams.
Their defence has been great with two clean sheets and a solitary goal that they conceded against Cameroon. But it is their game in the offensive end, which might have been below par as they have just scored four goals so far.
With the competition moving into the business end of the competition, they need to find the back of the net more often. The Japanese team should not be much worried about it as they possess some quality players in their ranks.
Japanese coach Norio Sasaki feels that the team has not been able to expose all its strength.
"It's not as if we've been hiding what we're capable of," AFP quoted Sasaki as saying. "It's because the players haven't been able to expose all their strength. I warn everyone to be prepared for the storm that could happen."
The Netherlands have not been impressive in the competition finishing in group A with four points. They won one, lost one and drew one as well. Hence, it might be a difficult affair for the Netherlands to progress through at Japan's expense.
A huge crowd is expected to throng the stadium for the game and Dutch coach Roger Reijners feels it is such matches that they love to play.
"These are the exact matches we love to play: a large podium, a huge crowd," AP quoted coach Roger Reijners as saying.
"This is probably the biggest one that they've played up to now. We have put a goal in our heads and it means that we need to win as many as you can win. The more the better. If tomorrow if things go well we'll know exactly where we stand."
The winners of the clash meet Australia, who dumped Brazil out of the competition, defeating them 1-0 in the round of 16. Defending champions Japan are a strong team and if they fail to reach the semi-finals at the least, it will be considered as a failure.
Where to Watch Live
FIFA Women's World Cup round of 16 match between Japan and the Netherlands is scheduled for 10pm ET (7:30am IST, 3am BST) start. (There is no live coverage in India)
Viewers in the US can watch the game live on Fox Network with live streaming on Fox Soccer2 Go.
Those in the UK can catch the action live on BBC Two, while in Japan the game will be available on NHK Japan.
