FIFA Women’s World Cup 2011: England Wins Group B, Japan Advances

The 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup is over for both Mexico and New Zealand, as they failed to capture enough points to get into the quarterfinals of the competition. Thanks to their win today and their ability to get points in all of their matches, England are through to the quarterfinals as the winners of Group B, while Japan will be going through in second place.

The opponents of England and Japan are yet to be determined, as those matchups are dependent on Tuesday’s match between France and Germany in Group A. If France wins or draws, they will face Japan while Germany will face England. Germany needs to win that game outright to win the group and seal a date with Japan.

Ellen White scored the opening goal for England, hitting a fantastic chip over Ayumi Kaihori in the 15th minute. White almost scored a similar goal later in the half, but Kaihori was able to come up with an answer in the way of a brilliant save. Japan looked a good bet to make some changes and get back into the game in the second half, but England were able to keep control, and Rachel Yankey doubled the lead in the 68th minute with a goal.

Mexico was impressive for most of the other match, but New Zealand made an incredible late comeback from a 2-0 deficit to draw 2-2, sealing their first ever World Cup point.