Women’s World Cup 2019 – Day 13: The final matches in Group D took place yesterday and there was lots of drama with England defeating Japan, while Scotland and Argentina drew 3-3. This meant that England go through as group winners with a 100% record, Japan finish second to also qualify and Scotland are eliminated, while Argentina still have a slim chance of qualifying for the last 16 if results go their way today. If you have questions or comments about any of the football language from today’s post then you can email us at: admin@languagecaster.com.2019 World Cup Group D Review
England started well in their game against Nadeshihiko Japan – the side that beat them in the last minute of the semi-final four years ago – and would have been further in front if it had not been for the Japanese goalkeeper Yamashita who made a string of fine saves. In the second half the Japanese side took control and really should have equalised as their passing game forced the Lionesses back. However, in the 85th minute striker Ellen White scored her second goal – remember, that’s a brace – to seal the three points and top spot in the group.
In the other Group D game Scotland were cruising to victory over Argentina after scoring three unanswered goals but in the last 20 minutes the Argentinian side staged a remarkable comeback to draw level. There was controversy at the end as Argentina were awarded a last-minute penalty which was saved by Scottish keeper Lee Alexander but after consulting VAR the spot-kick was re-taken after the Scottish keeper was deemed to have moved off her line – she stepped in front of the goal line. Argentina scored from the re-taken penalty and managed to earn a remarkable come-from-behind draw. One other major talking point involved the North Korean referee’s understanding of added on time – both sides were unhappy with the amount she gave, particularly as the VAR decision had held up play for quite a long time. The result means that Argentina can still qualify for the knock-out round but Scotland are out.
2019 Women’s World Cup Language: Business end of the tournament
The group stages of the 2019 Women’s World Cup are coming to an end and 8 of the 24 sides will have to return home after failing to qualify for the last 16. The remaining sides now play knock-out football where the stakes are high and the tension even higher – this is the business end to the competition. We use this phrase to explain when the competition heats up and each game is an important one. The England manager Phil Neville used this phrase yesterday after his side’s win over Japan: ‘We’re where we want to be – in the last 16, ready to attack the business end of the tournament’ (BBC, June 20th 2019).
2019 Women’s World Cup Predictions
We have new leaders in the languagecaster predictions competition as Jon and jlacey now lead with 37 points – two ahead of Learn English Through Football, Nina and Aki, with Paul a further point behind.
There are four games today with Groups E and F finishing their final matches. In Group E Cameroon face New Zealand with both sides knowing that a win may see them progress as one of the best-placed third sides, while Canada and the Netherlands fight it out to see which one will qualify as group winners. In Group F the USA will face their stiffest test yet as they take on Sweden, while Thailand and Chile also know that a win may guarantee them a knock-out place.
To play the predictions game, it’s not too late, you can log in/register and then add your scores. More information about playing can be found here. There will be a small prize for the winner!
Next Matches
You have to be a registered user and logged in to play in this pool.Current Ranking – Day 12
| 1. | zicanda | 10 |
| 2. | HP Sauce | 9 |
| 3. | Learn English through Football | 8 |
| 4. | Tokyo Red | 6 |
| 5. | Liliy | 3 |
| 6. | Mightytoft | 3 |
| 7. | Fugesi | 1 |
| 8. | Sue | 1 |
| 9. | niall | 0 |
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