The English clinched first place in Group B and a spot in the quarterfinals with their win over Japan today. The English have never advanced beyond the quarterfinals having made it that far in 1995 and 2007 as well. 22 year old striker Ellen White opened the scoring in the 15th minute with her 6th career international goal and 31 year old veteran midfielder Rachel Yankey added the insurance goal in the 66th to give Japan their first loss of the tournament. Despite the loss, the Japanese still advance to the quarterfinals for just the 2nd time in 6 appearances.
MEXICO 2 NEW ZEALAND 2
Mexico was a longshot to advance when the day started needing both a win and an English loss, and for 89 minutes it seemed they'd at least hold up their part of the bargain. New Zealand had other plans though scoring in the 90th minute and then again in stoppage time to pull off the shocking draw. 19 year old Stephany Mayor opened the scoring just 2 minutes into the match and Maribel Dominguez would double the lead in the 29th minute as Mexico looked like they had things in control. But team captain Rebecca Smith scored off of a corner to make it 2-1 and then in the 4th minute of stoppage time 19 year old Hannah Wilkinson notched the equalizer. For New Zealand it was their first point in 3 trips to the World Cup while Mexico squandered a golden opportunity to get their first World Cup win.
FINAL GROUP B STANDINGS
LEADING SCORER
Homare Sawa, Japan - 3 goals
Photo Courtesy: bleacherreport.com
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