Italy, Netherlands post identical second-round victories at Women’s World Cup
MONTPELLIER, France (AP) — Valentina Giacinti and Aurora Galli scored and Italy earned its first appearance in the quarterfinals of the Women’s World Cup since 1991 after beating China 2-0 on Tuesday.
Giacinti created and finished off her 15th-minute opener before Galli’s long strike put the result beyond doubt four minutes after halftime at the stiflingly hot Stade de la Mosson.
China had only allowed one goal in its three group stage games but the talented Italian attack broke down the vaunted defense.
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Netherlands 2, Japan 1
At Rennes, Lieke Martens scored her second goal on a late penalty kick to send the Dutch into the quarterfinals for the first time with a win over 2015 finalist Japan on Tuesday.
The new handball law led to referee Melissa Borjas awarding the penalty because Saki Kumagai’s hand blocked Vivianne Miedema’s shot, even though there was no clear intention.
Martens scored from the spot.
An audacious backheel flick set up Martens to send the Dutch in front in the 17th minute and Yui Hasegawa equalized in the 43rd to complete a slick passing move.