England appear to be in a more favourable side of the draw at the Women’s World Cup following the exit of one of the pre-tournament favourites Germany last week, although a competition of upsets has shown no team can be underestimated.
Instead of a possible quarter-final meeting with world number two side Germany, who the Lionesses narrowly beat in the Euro 2022 final last year, England face the prospect of a last-eight meeting with either Jamaica (43rd in the world rankings) or Colombia (25th).
However, first they have to overcome Nigeria (40th) in the last 16 on Monday – a team who beat tournament co-hosts Australia on their way to finishing second in Group B.
With Canada (seventh) also out, it means there are only two of the world’s top 10 teams left in England’s side of the draw.
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Meanwhile, the quarter-final places have all been decided in the other half of the draw, which has also seen a big shock with the loss of defending champions and tournament favourites the United States.
Of the remaining four teams, only Japan (11th) are not inside the world’s top 10, but they have arguably produced some of the best performances of the competition so far.
Sweden (second), Spain (sixth) and the Netherlands (ninth) will all fancy their chances of going all the way to the final.
