The first round of the Women's World Cup soccer tournament is wrapping up in the United States. The results are separating the teams that are advancing to the quarterfinal round from the ones that are going home.
Brazil has won its group in the Women's World Cup on Saturday, moving to the next round with a 1-1 tie against France. Brazil also had two wins to finish first in Group-B, which means it will likely avoid an immediate contest against defending champion United States. The Brazilians will play the second-place team from Group-A in the quarterfinals Wednesday.
The Brazilians, showing the youthful flair so often displayed by their men's World Cup champion team, scored eight goals and allowed just two in three games. In Washington Saturday, Katia scored her fourth goal of the tournament in the 58th minute, capitalizing on a rare error by otherwise outstanding French goalkeeper Celine Marty.
France, with one previous win and one loss, salvaged a draw in the second-half injury time when Marinette Pichon scored from 12 meters. Pichon scored the French team's only two goals in the tournament.
In the second game at RFK stadium, Maren Meinert had two goals and two assists as Germany completed an undefeated first round by dominating Argentina, 6-1. Germany easily won Group-C, outscoring its opponents, 13-2, and will play the second-place team from Group-D in the quarterfinals Thursday in Portland, Oregon. Argentina was eliminated with no wins.
Two more games were played Saturday in Foxboro, Massachusetts, where Norway advanced with a 7-1 rout of South Korea. Norwegians Dagny Mellgren and Linda Ormen each had two goals. The game total of eight goals matched a Women's World Cup record, accomplished five other times.
Norway finished second in Group-B to Brazil. Norway, ranked second in the world, will likely play the United States in Foxboro if the Americans beat or tie North Korea on Sunday. Norway has won the only two major international tournaments not won by the United States - the 1995 World Cup and the 2000 Olympics. Norway also is the only team in the World Cup with a winning record against the United States.
Canada advanced to the quarterfinals by using its height and a tie-breaking goal by Christine Sinclair to rally for a 3-1 victory over Japan. In the next round Canada, which finished second in Group-C with two wins and one loss, will play Thursday in Portland. The opponent will be either Russia or China, who face each other Sunday to determine which will win Group-D.