Japan was supposed to get this far in the Women's World Cup. They faced off against Australia in the last round, not Brazil as expected, but most expected them to do about as well as they have. They're favorites to make the final as well, but they might not have such an easy time with England.
Japan vs. England, 2015 World Cup: Start time, TV schedule and team news
The Three Lions have the ability to pull an upset, but Japan are still big favorites to win and set up a rematch with the United States.
Anne-Marie Sorvin-USA TODAY Sports
Hilariously, by losing to France in the group stage, England gave themselves a decent chance to win the World Cup. They dropped into the "easy" half of the bracket, avoiding Germany, and have now secured their best finish ever in this tournament. They did well to get past Norway and hosts Canada, relying on their solid defense, and will need to be at their best at the back to contain Japan in the semifinal.
These teams don’t have a lot of history against each other, but the little bit they do have suggests England are capable of pulling an upset. They drew 1-1 in a friendly back in 2013 and England defeated Japan in the group stage of the 2011 World Cup, before the Japanese went on to win that tournament.
Key player: Aya Miyama
Key matchup: Lucy Bronze vs. Aya Sameshima
Two of the best attacking players in this game are fullbacks, and they’re on the same flank. Sameshima has been excellent going forward for Japan all tournament, and Bronze has goals in back-to-back games. They’ll be seeing a lot of each other on both ends of the pitch.
Match date/time: Wednesday, 7 p.m. ET
Venue: Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton, Canada
TV: Fox Sports 1 (U.S. -- English), NBC Universo (U.S. -- Spanish), CTV, TSN, RDS (Canada), BBC3, Eurosport 1 (U.K.), NHK (Japan).
Online: Fox Sports Go, Fox Soccer 2 Go (U.S. -- English), NBC Deportes en vivo extra (U.S. -- Spanish), TSN (Canada), BBC player, Eurosport player (U.K.), NHK (Japan).
Listings via Live Soccer TV.
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