England vs Japan: FIFA Women’s World Cup Semifinals Preview, Live Stream & Where To Watch
Defending champions Japan will face England in the semifinals of the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup on Wednesday at the Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton, Canada.
Japan, who has not tasted defeat in the tournament, booked a return trip to the semifinals with a 1-0 win against Australia in the quarterfinals on Saturday in Edmonton.
On the other hand, England continue to surprise the skeptics after earning a spot in the final four with a huge 2-1 win against host Canada on Saturday at the BC Place Stadium in Vancouver.
Japan are favored to win against England. Japanese coach Norio Sasaki said that he and his players are also confident heading into the match, saying that they are convinced they are better than their semis foes.
"The players as individuals and as a team I hope that they will keep that confidence," Sasaki told reporters via St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "As far as stamina, both teams face a tough task but even with those conditions I think the Japanese players are superior."
England coach Mark Sampson fired back when asked about Sasaki's statement. Sampson said Japan has high-quality players, which is the reason why they were crowned world champions in 2011, but the 32-year-old coach believes they have all the tools to dethrone Japan on Wednesday.
"I wouldn't argue that the fact that in potentially tight spaces, Japan have a way of moving the ball that can potentially cause teams problems," Sampson said via The Star. "But there are a lot of weapons England are going to chuck their way [Wednesday], which they are going to have to stand up to."
England midfielder Jill Scott is also not worried some fans are already counting them out. For her, an upset victory is not impossible because they have proven before they can stand toe-to-toe with Japan. During the 2011 FIFA World Cup preliminary round, England eked out a 2-0 victory.
"They are the world champions, and we have to respect that," Scott said of their matchup against the defending champions. "But we have beaten them before, so why not again?"
Where To Watch & Live Stream
The England-Japan is scheduled to kick off at 7 p.m. ET and will be shown live on Fox Sports 1. Fans can also catch the semis match through online live stream via Fox Soccer 2GO. The winner of this match will arrange a final showdown against USA, who scored a 2-0 win against Germany on Tuesday.
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