Spain and Japan both put on imperious displays against the competition to cement a place in the Quarter Finals. While Spain’s victory is a statement of intent, it only highlights the quality on Japan’s side given they demolished Spain 4-0 less than a week ago.

Switzerland vs Spain (1-5)

Aitana Bonmati led Spain into their first ever Women’s World Cup Quarter Final appearance following a decisive 5-1 win over Switzerland. After a humbling by Japan earlier in the week, Spain’s starting 11 was completely overhauled with even Alexia Putellas being benched. Aside from a single own goal from Codina, Spain were in complete control for much of the match and Bonmati was the beating heart of this electrifying side.

Japan vs Norway (3-1)

Despite being ranked 11th in power rankings into this World Cup, Japan have become the team to beat and Norway is only the latest conquest in Futoshi Ikeda’s side’s campaign to the trophy. With current tournament top scorer Hinata Miyazawa in a hot streak, Japan have put fourteen goals past their opponents while only conceding one.

Player Spotlight: Hinata Miyazawa

Hinata Miyazawa is a Japanese midfielder that plays for Mynavi Sendai in Japan’s WE League. Miyazawa has been at the heart of Japan’s women’s football renaissance. In 2016, she won 2nd place in the U-17 World Cup and shortly after in 2018 was crowned champion in the U-20 World Cup. Shortly after, she made her Japanese national team debut and has continued to impress despite only being 23 years old.

As a highly technical midfielder, Miyazawa has generally been the engine room for her Japanese sides - scoring only four times across 30 international matches - with none of those having been against top 15 nations. Leading up to this World Cup, Miyazawa was a questionable starter for Japan but in Japan’s new look 3-4-2-1 formation, she’s flourished in a advanced midfielder role behind the striker.

Her current form has led her to become the leader in the race with five goals for the tournament’s Golden Boot with her closest rival being Alexandra Popp who’s German side was just eliminated. Three Spanish players - Ferrer, Bonmati, and Fuentes - are now turning up the pressure with three goals a piece and a successful win over Switzerland.