The USA will face Sweden, the winner of Group G, for its first knockout stage FIFA Women’s World Cup match, set for very early Sunday.
How early? Set your clocks for 2 a.m. – or just stay up to cheer on Team USA and two of its members, San Diego Wave FC‘s Alex Morgan and Naomi Girma.
And the U.S., favorites going into the tournament, have slipped. England is now being touted by oddsmakers as the team to beat, followed by Spain and then the U.S.
In the team’s most recent action, a 0-0 draw with Portugal to move on out of Group E, Girma, a defender, was named Woman of the Match for her efforts in keeping a clean sheet and eliminating the opponent’s attack. The center defender played the entire match from the backline.
Morgan played until the 96th minute before being replaced in stoppage time by Angel City forward Alyssa Thompson.
The Wave had three other women on national teams, two of which, Sweden and Australia, also made it to the knockout stage.
Girma and Morgan in fact will meet teammate Sofia Jakobsson, part of the Sweden national team, on Sunday.
Jakobsson, a midfielder, recorded her second assist of the World Cup against Argentina, in the 2-0 win that guaranteed her country the finish atop Group G.
The winner will move on to play the victor in Saturday’s Japan-Norway match.
Emily Van Egmond is part of the Australian team that will meet Denmark on Monday. The winning team will face France or Morocco, which play Tuesday.
Kailen Sheridan‘s run at the World Cup ended when Canada lost 4-0 to Australia.
