Japan’s gamers heat up trai throughout a coaching session forward of the spherical of 16 Women’s World Cup soccer match between Japan and Norway in Wellington, New Zealand, on Aug. 4, 2023.| Photo Credit: AP

As the Women's World Cup enters the enterprise stage when the final 16 kicks off on Saturday, the surprises and shocks within the group stage have thrown up some mouth-watering fixtures, beginning with the conflict of former champions Norway and Japan.

There is a way that the expanded 32-team format has improved the match after heavyweights Germany, Canada, Brazil and China have been knocked out whereas minnows like Morocco and Jamaica superior for the primary time.

While Japan got here by their group unscathed, Norway misplaced to co-hosts New Zealand within the match opener whereas a public spat threatened to derail their marketing campaign earlier than they finally certified.

"You can see the level of the World Cup is rising, so the women's game is growing fast," Norway coach Hege Riise instructed reporters.

"Everyone said it was an easy group, we knew it wasn't because it was a tight group for us. Playing the home team in the first game and not performing well was a little bit devastating for us.

"But after that we acquired higher step-by-step and after we wanted a great win we went on to play Philippines and gained 6-0. So confidence within the group is rising."

Riise is no stranger to Japan having played club football in the country in the mid-1990s and she praised how far the Asian side has come since.

"When I performed in Japan, I loved each minute of it. Fantastic nation, nice gamers and the nationwide group again then was inferior to they're now," Riise said.

"Now, they've developed fairly quick and grow to be a robust group."

Japan coach Futoshi Ikeda praised the teamwork that saw them keep three clean sheets in three wins to advance.

"Each participant is performing their function. They're not solely performing to their very own capability, however they're working as a unit. It's all concerning the collective," he said.

Switzerland advanced with two goalless draws after a 2-0 win in the opener and coach Inka Grings has stressed on her team needing to be more assertive in attack when they play Spain.

"We have actually understood that message and now we have helped to convey that with movies," Grings said.

"Spain has very robust gamers... We have a look at them as a compact and powerful group."