World Cup group stage comes to an end on TSN

The Round of 16 will be rounded out when Group H finishes up group-stage play at the 2023 Women's World Cup with all four teams still technically able to qualify for the knockout round.

In Brisbane, Korea Republic hope to pull off one of the surprises of the tournament in keeping World No. 2 Germany from advancing to the Round of 16.

You can catch Korea Republic vs. Germany in Group H action from the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup in Brisbane with coverage getting underway at 5:45am et/2:45am pt on TSN1/4/5, streaming on the TSN App and on TSN.ca.

The DFB-Frauen are coming off of a stunning 2-1 loss to upstart Colombia on Matchday 2 when Manuela Vanegas's header in the seventh minute of second-half stoppage earned the CONMEBOL side a famous victory. Even with the loss, Germany finds themselves in good position to advance to the Round of 16, thanks to a 6-0 thrashing of Morocco in their opener. Level with Morocco on three points, Germany has a +10 goal differential against the Lionesses of Atlas in case of a tiebreaker.

Wolfsburg's Lena Oberdorf says she has no doubt that her team will bounce back from the loss.

“We feel we are very strong,” the 21-year-old midfielder said. “Ahead of the EUROs last year, we lost against Serbia, and everybody thought, ‘Germany are going to suck at this tournament’. Then we made it into the final. We have stuck together as a team for a long time. We will calm down, focus on the last group game, and complete our task. We have a good mentality in the team. Even the younger players, I know they are thinking ‘Okay, let’s go, we can change things against Korea.'"

The Taegeuk Ladies will almost assuredly see their World Cup end at the group stage for the third time in four trips to the quadrennial tournament. Korea can still qualify for the knockouts, but will need nothing short of a miracle. Not only will they need Colombia to beat Morocco, they will also need to defeat Germany 8-0. Despite the very long odds, the Taegeuk Ladies are holding their heads up high and vowing to give Germany everything they can handle. 

"We want to play with no regrets," midfielder Chun Ga-ram said. "I read that people have been saying: 'How are they going to beat Germany?', but we still have a slim chance of progressing to the next round. The coach told us that we mustn’t give up until the very end, and that we shouldn’t lose hope. We have promised ourselves that we’ll give it our all."

In the group's other match, Colombia finds themselves on the precipice of the Round of 16 for the second time in their last two World Cups, but will need to weather the challenge of a desperate Morocco side.

You can catch Morocco vs. Colombia in Group H action from the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup in Perth with coverage getting underway at 5:45am et/2:45am pt on TSN2, streaming on the TSN App and on TSN.ca.

Barring an 8-0 loss to Morocco coupled with a Germany victory, Las Cafeteras will be competing in the knockout round on the back of two wins in their first two games over Korea and Germany.

Despite flying as high as they are, Colombia refuses to get ahead of themselves.

“What happened against Germany was amazing, but the team’s feeling relaxed and we’re thinking about Morocco," breakout star Linda Caicedo said. "We haven’t won anything and the World Cup is still very much alive.”

Morocco are coming off of their first ever World Cup win with a 1-0 victory over Korea on the back of a Ibtissam Jraïdi goal in the sixth minute. The joy from the victory has been quickly tempered by the challenge ahead.

The Lionesses of Atlas know that their fate is out of their hands, but they will do what they can and that starts with a victory over Colombia. While there is a scenario in which a draw could be enough to advance, a win will be treated as the bar minimum here by Morocco.