Brazil and North Korea among new powers heading for quarterfinals

Brazil and North Korea among new powers heading for quarterfinals

By STEPHEN WADE, AP Sports Writer
September 16, 2007

SHANGHAI, China (AP) -- The quarterfinals will be set in a few days for the Women's World Cup. One thing is already very clear.

New powers are emerging in the women's game, and Brazil and North Korea are two of them. Neither has won this tournament, which has been dominated by the United States (two titles) and European teams -- Germany is the defending champion and Norway won in 1995.

The final is Sept. 30 in Shanghai, and nobody would bet against those two quick, attacking teams contesting that game.

Brazil is nearly certain to win Group D after its impressive 4-0 victory over China on Saturday behind two goals by Marta, the tournament's top scorer with four.

"The gap has closed a lot between teams at the top," said Silvia Neid, Germany's coach.

The Brazilian women play like their male counterparts, who have won an unprecedented five World Cups. They're flashy, open up other defenses with backheel passes and attack with one-on-one superiority.

"It's not only Marta on Brazil, they have many 'small Martas' too," China coach Marika Domanski-Lyfors said. "They have good qualities, every player."

Brazil, which faces Denmark on Wednesday in its final group game, will probably face Australia or Canada in the quarterfinals in Tianjin on Sept. 23. Those two teams face off Wednesday with Australia needing only a draw to grab second place in Group C.

The winner of Group C is likely to be Norway, though Australia could also win it. The top team in that group will probably be up against China on Sept. 23 in Wuhan. China faces New Zealand in the final group game on Wednesday. New Zealand has lost its first two games and has yet to score.

The tougher Groups A and B are still unclear.

Defending champion Germany is tied with Japan atop Group A with four points. The two play Monday in Hangzhou with Germany heavily favored. The Germans would win the group with a victory. England seems likely to take second place. It faces Argentina on Monday -- the South Americans have lost two games -- and could claim second place with a victory.

Japan has played well in the tournament and a victory or draw against Germany would throw Group A into a three-way struggle for two places.

The No. 1-ranked United States and No. 5-ranked North Korea seem sure to get the two places from Group B. The U.S. finishes group play against Nigeria on Tuesday in Shanghai. North Korea faces Sweden on Tuesday in Tianjin.

Through two games, North Korea and the Americans are even on the first three criteria FIFA uses to break ties in the standings: points, goals and goal difference.

The winner of Group A plays the No. 2 team in Group B on Sept. 22 in Wuhan. The second-place team in A plays the No. 1 team from Group B on the same day in Tianjin.

April's draw for the World Cup stunned the United States, which is undefeated in 48 games and the favorite to win its third World Cup title.

Minutes before the draw in Wuhan, FIFA, soccer's world governing body, arbitrarily placed North Korea into Group B and declined to explain why. Minutes later, the U.S., Sweden and Nigeria were drawn into the group.

In effect, placing North Korea in Group B allows host China to avoid Asia's top team -- and its toughest rival -- until the semifinals.

"At this point there is nothing we can do about it," U.S. striker Abby Wambach said. "Right when the draw happened, we were all like, 'How can this be?"'



Updated on Sunday, Sep 16, 2007 3:27 pm, EDT