Colombia beat Jamaica in their last-16 tie to set up a quarter-final against England, with France then brushing aside Morocco to secure a date with co-hosts Australia at the Women’s World Cup.
The matches completed the last-16 fixtures, with attention next turning to the quarter-finals which get under way on Friday.
Here, the PA news agency takes a look back at Tuesday.
Colombia out to hunt Lionesses
Colombia set up a quarter-final clash with England as they edged past Jamaica 1-0 in Melbourne thanks to Catalina Usme’s effort early in the second half.
The decisive moment in the battle between two of the tournament’s surprise packages came when Usme beat Rebecca Spencer with a composed finish in the 51st minute.
Jamaica, making their maiden appearance in the knockout rounds, hit the post seconds later through Jody Brown, with Colombia’s Leicy Santos then doing the same late on as the South Americans moved into the last eight of the competition for the first time in their history.
James apologises to Alozie
Lauren James apologised to Michelle Alozie for standing on the back of the Nigeria defender, earning the England forward a red card towards the end of normal time in the Lionesses’ last-16 victory on Monday.
In response to a tweet from Alozie, James posted: “All my love and respect to you. I am sorry for what happened.
“Also, for our England fans and my team-mates, playing with and for you is my greatest honour and I promise to learn from my experience.”
Allez Les Bleues
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France ended Morocco’s historic campaign by cruising to a 4-0 triumph in Adelaide against Morocco, the lowest-ranked side left in the tournament at 72nd in the world, who had been among the competition debutants this summer.
The job was all but done by the interval thanks to a quickfire first-half treble from world number five-ranked France, with Kadidiatou Diani opening the scoring before providing assists for Kenza Dali and Eugenie Le Sommer.
Morocco, managed by former France international Reynald Pedros, had a less torrid time of it after the break but conceded again in the 70th minute when Le Sommer headed home.
Picture of the dayNigeria’s next fight
Having bowed out of the tournament to England on penalties on Monday, Nigeria are now embarking on another fight in the form of a pay dispute with their federation.
World players’ union FIFPRO said in a statement on their behalf: “The Super Falcons believe that it is now time for the Nigeria Football Federation to honour their commitments and pay the outstanding amounts.
“The team is extremely frustrated that they have had to pursue the NFF for these payments before and during the tournament and may have to continue to do so afterwards.
“It is regrettable that players needed to challenge their own federation at such an important time in their careers.”
What’s next?
Quarter-final: Spain v Netherlands (Friday, 0200)
Quarter-final: Japan v Sweden (Friday, 0830)
Leverkusen star Wirtz named Bundesliga Player of the Year
Florian Wirtz played a starring role for Bayer Leverkusen this season and has been named the Bundesliga Player of the Year.
Wirtz scored 11 goals and provided a further 11 assists on the way to helping Leverkusen win their first-ever top-flight title.
The forward was pivotal in Leverkusen’s title charge as they became the first German team to complete an unbeaten season.
Only Victor Boniface has scored more goals than Wirtz this campaign, netting 14 times, while his tally of 11 assists is second only to Alejandro Grimaldo (13) across the Bundesliga.
Wirtz came off the bench to score a hat-trick in Leverkusen’s 5-0 win over Werder Bremen in April which clinched the title with five games remaining.
The Bundesliga champions still have the German Cup final on Saturday against Kaiserslautern, which follows the Europa League final against Atalanta on Wednesday.
Wirtz played a critical role in helping Leverkusen reach their third European final, having been involved in eight goals in the Europa League this season (four goals, four assists), the most of any player in the team.
He has also created 28 chances from open play in the competition, a tally only five players can better in a Europa League campaign, most recently Amin Younes for Ajax in 2016-17 (30).
In all competitions, Leverkusen’s unbeaten run stretches to 51 matches, as they aim to finish an unbeaten season with a treble.
Kane injury doubt for England Euro 2024 squad
Harry Kane may be a doubt for England’s Euro 2024 squad as he continues to struggle with a back problem.
Gareth Southgate is due to name his preliminary squad for Euro 2024 on Tuesday, ahead of upcoming friendlies against Bosnia and Herzegovina and Iceland.
The England captain missed the final two Bundesliga games of the season after going off towards the end of Bayern Munich’s Champions League semi-final second leg against Real Madrid.
Thomas Tuchel confirmed prior to their final match against Hoffenheim that Kane was back in England to undergo treatment.
When later asked again about the nature of the striker’s injury, Tuchel admitted that Kane had been struggling for a couple of weeks.
"In Madrid, it was borderline. We tried injections and treatments. The back has completely closed.
"It has gotten worse and kept breaking out in small, everyday movements. There's no chance he's even training."
Kane scored 36 league goals in his debut campaign for Bayern, though due to the injury, he finished five adrift of Robert Lewandowski’s single-season goal record of 41, set in 2019-20.
The final announcement of Southgate's 26-man squad will be revealed on June 7, ahead of the tournament opener against Serbia on June 16.
Pochettino prioritising continuity as Chelsea draw up transfer plans
Mauricio Pochettino feels continuity will be key for Chelsea ahead of his second season in charge, ruling out the prospect of another clear-out at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea clinched European qualification on the final day of the Premier League season on Sunday, a 2-1 win over Bournemouth ensuring they beat Newcastle United and Manchester United to sixth place.
The Blues finished the campaign with five straight victories, the first time they have achieved that feat since doing so in March 2022 under Thomas Tuchel.
A positive end to Pochettino's debut campaign has quietened talk of his job being under threat, and he wants to see evolution rather than revolution ahead of 2024-25.
"Does the club need new signings? Always, you can improve," Pochettino said after Sunday's victory.
"They are going to be much better next season because they will have one year of experience, a tough experience.
"That is the advantage of being solid and consistent and not making too many changes.
"Next season, if we keep 80 to 85 per cent of the squad, for sure it is a big step forward because it is about having continuity in the ideas and the knowledge between them. That is important for the club.
"That is a club decision. Like it was from the beginning, we [the coaching staff] are going to be there to help and if not, we are going to do our job."
Chelsea only lost one of their final 15 matches of the Premier League season (nine wins, five draws), with that defeat coming by a 5-0 scoreline at Arsenal in April.
Only Manchester City, Arsenal (16 each) and Liverpool (12) won more Premier League games than Chelsea's 10 between the turn of the year and the end of the campaign, with their total of 43 goals in that time ranking them fifth among all teams in the division.
Chelsea's overall tally of 77 goals in 2023-24 was their third-most in a Premier League season, behind only their title-winning campaigns of 2009-10 (103) and 2016-17 (85).
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