Watch live online Saturday when Australia and defending FIFA Women’s World Cup champion Japan meet in the tournament’s third quarterfinal match, with world number 10-ranked Australia looking for what would be a huge upset over the fourth-ranked Japan side.
The match will also be a rematch of the 2014 Women’s Asian Cup Final, when Japan came out on top 1-0 — though the teams posted a 2-2- draw in the group stage match, so the sides may be closer than the disparity in their FIFA world rankings would indicate.
To find out how to watch the Australia vs. Japan FIFA 2015 Women’s World Cup Quarterfinal game live online, see the information in the final paragraph of this article. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. local time June 27 at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. That’s 4 p.m. Eastern Time, 1 p.m. Pacific.
The Matildas have made it as far as the quarterfinals with a surprisingly aggressive style that has netted them five goals in four games, without a loss since falling 3-1 to Team USA in the opening group stage match for both of those teams.
Japan is also noted for their quickness and aggression, and have won all four games they’ve played so far — but surprisingly, Australia goalkeeper Lydia Williams says she is expecting a grinding, defense-dominated struggle in Saturday’s quarterfinal.
“Both teams are quite strong in transition and we’re playing a possession-based football game now as well as they are. I think defensively, it’s going to be whoever has the best defense and saves will win the game,” Williams said Friday.
Australia has already shown a propensity for giant-killing, knocking off favored Brazil in their Round of 16 match 1-0. Japan may be an even tougher assignment, but Matildas coach Alen Stajcic believes his team is fully prepared.
“We’re a very good team as well and we’ve been dangerous against everyone and there’s no reason we can’t be dangerous when we play Japan and be a real threat,” the coach said . “I’m confident we can beat them but it’s going to be an extremely tough match and we will need to be at our best for 90 minutes.”
Will Australia pull off the massive upset, moving into the World Cup semifinals, or will Japan continue its quest to repeat as World Cup champions? To find out, watch the Australia vs. Japan FIFA Women’s World Cup Quarterfinal match live online from Edmonton, by going to Fox Sports Go at this link , or paying for a subscription to Fox Soccer2Go, available at this link . The Spanish-language live online stream will be carried by NBC Sports Live Extra, which may be accessed at this link .
[Image: Stanley Chou/Getty Images]