THE last 16 of the Women’s World Cup saw some of the best talents of the women’s game showcased. While some games followed the pre-written script almost to a tee, others did not and not always for the right reasons.

If all the knockout stages followed the standard set by Germany v Sweden then seven incredible matches of football were set to grace our screens. Despite their best efforts Sweden, fifth-ranked in the world according to Fifa, were unable to hold out top-ranked Germany who put four past the plucky Swedes. The scoring was opened by the tournament’s joint top-scorer Anja Mittag, who put the favourites in poll position. At 3-0 down Linda Sembrant headed in a late consolation goal for the Scandinavians but the ruthless Germans sealed the match with their fourth from Dzsenifer Marozsan two minutes from the whistle.

For Germany to reach the semi-finals they now face a fierce battle against an increasingly in-form France. The Germans’ quarter-final rivals have had a much easier ride on their way to this stage of the competition and while initially viewed as potential finalists their shock defeat to Colombia in the group stages and overall performances have done little to back up that position. Three goals against a poor South Korea side and a clean sheet in the last 16 don’t seem to have given them a crucial component in football: belief.

Undoubtedly one of the most exciting games and biggest upsets of the World Cup came from Brazil v Australia. Goals were limited and the overconfident Brazilian side played as if they were already through to the next round. Going into the last 16, Brazil still had failed to concede a goal but they underestimated the Australians, who had battled through the group of death to reach the knockouts.

When Australia went a goal up midway through the first half, it became almost impossible to do anything but watch from the edge of your seat with hands half covering your eyes as they bid to beat Brazil in a World Cup match for the first time, making Australian history by progressing further than ever before.

Australia now face Japan, which will be no easy game for either side, but Japan are at a disadvantage having been the last team to play for a quarter-final place on Wednesday morning.

First and second-half goals respectively from Saori Ariyoshi and a curling left-footed strike from Mizuho Sakaguchi saw the Japanese side walk away from the game with a 2-1 victory despite a late effort from Kirsten Van de Ven for the Dutch.

China face the USA in a rerun of the 1999 tournament final, after beating Cameroon and Colombia respectively. Both these last 16 games were somewhat bittersweet for the neutral spectator as the underdog’s progress would have been incredible feats.

Throwing everything they had into their games, Cameroon and Colombia made their winning intentions clear. During their 2-0 defeat to the US, the Colombian goalkeeper saw red and the South American side were forced into an emergency substitution of their keeper, but Abby Wambach put the resultant penalty wide. However, Alex Morgan scooped the first goal shortly after to finally break the resolve of a confident Colombian side.

The US’s underwhelming performance in the last 16 shows just how much of a shadow of their former selves they have become. Given the quality and competition that has presented itself to us throughout this tournament the US don’t seem like likely or deserving winners of the World Cup this year.

Finally, despite a solid performance, the Norwegians could not stop England from grabbing a 2-1 win. England’s performance was questionable and their progress further than ever before does not accurately reflect on their overall unconvincing tournament display. After a dominant first half it very much felt like Norway failed to turn up for the second half despite grabbing the lead through Solveig Gulbrandsen. England now face a glamour tie against hosts Canada and a hostile home crowd. The game promises to be their toughest challenge yet as their lower-ranked opponents will be cheered on by a large part of the expected 50,000 crowd.

This weekend’s quarter-finals will without doubt provide some of the fiercest games in the competition as top teams and bookies favourites find themselves up against each other. For some it is an attempt to add a new paragraph into the history books. For others it is simply a chance to cross their fingers and hope they can completely rip up the script. It really is time to forget the stats put in front of you, sit down and watch the games for their quality while remembering that in a World Cup just about anything can happen especially when some teams are missing absolutely crucial players for the weekend thanks to yellow card accumulation suspensions.

Teams that progress through the quarters to the semis will find themselves back on the pitch on Tuesday and Wednesday making overall fitness and recovery methods increasingly essential on the questionable pitch surfaces.