Netherlands 2-0 South Africa
A goal in the ninth minute by Jill Roord set the pace, giving the 2019 World Cup finalists an early lead with her fourth goal of the tournament. But the South Africans did not go down without a fight — captain Thembi Kgatlana continued to impress and had a close one-vs-one opportunity late in the first half, the goal prevented by a huge save from Daphne Van Domselaar being the difference between the sides going into the break all square.
The game was wrapped up in the 68th minute when Lineth Beerensteyn’s soft shot slipped through Kaylin Swart’s hands sealing the victory for the Dutch.
Sweden 0-0 United States (Sweden win 5-4 on penalties)
The USA may have been the better side over 120 minutes, but their dominance was not enough to see the back-to-back, record winners progress to the quarter-finals. Instead, they crashed out at the earliest point in their World Cup history. Penalties would be the difference between the teams, as the U.S. missed chances to win before being eliminated on the narrowest of margins on a VAR check from Lisa Hurtig’s penalty.
