The FIFA Women's World Cup has reached the final set of group stage matches.
Cameroon pulled off a thrilling last-kick victory over New Zealand. Netherlands beat Canada 2-1 to end group E encounters for the tournament.
Two games remain now. USA takes on Sweden and Chile takes on Thailand in the final games of Group F. A legendary rivalry on one end and a key knockout tie in the other. It promises to be interesting.
An elaborate qualification process has been put in place by FIFA in case of a points deadlock, to determine who goes through and who doesn't. Before that comes into play though, there is basic math at play that will factor in after these two ties conclude.
READ : Women's World Cup: A guide to the knockout qualifications
Here is how the teams in the quadrennial showpiece stand before tonight's games:
ELIMINATED : South Africa, South Korea, Jamaica, Scotland, Argentina and New Zealand.
QUALIFIED (top-two from each group): France, Germany, Norway, Italy, Spain, USA, Sweden, Engand, Japan, Canada, Netherlands and Australia are through.
BEST THIRD-PLACE TEAMS: China, Brazil and Cameroon are through to the last 16. One spot remains.
READ: Rule of thirds: Who are the best third-place teams in the Women's World Cup?
One seat left at the table, three prospective candidates
After the Cameroon vs New Zealand match, one knockout berth remains with three teams vying to claim them - Nigeria, Chile and Thailand. Here's how they fare according to points and goal difference.
READ : Women's World Cup 2019: Results and standings
Nigeria: The Super Falcons have finished third in group A. It has a win and three points, 2 goals and a goal difference of -2. Cameroon secured a dramatic last-minute victory over New Zealand. It was a case of getting two birds with a stone for Cameroon as it knocked out New Zealand and Argentina from the knockout race. Nigeria still has a chance. A draw in the Chile vs Thailand tie will allow Nigeria to go through on the basis of points.
Chile and
Thailand aren't evenly placed in this tie. The burden of qualifying is a lot easier on Chile's shoulders than Thailand's owing to the latter's dismal goal difference, courtesy the drubbing at the hands of USA. Thailand needs to pull off a miraculous win over Chile due to the same. Chile stands a good chance if it manages a win by a three-goal margin to edge out Nigeria and grab the last berth in the Round of 16.
Sportstar will be live-blogging the Chile vs Thailand game. Follow live updates here.
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