Today’s Match Schedule

• 9:30 p.m. ET – Japan vs. Netherlands (Vancouver) on TSN/TSN GO
• 1 a.m. ET – Canada 2015 Recap Show on TSN2/TSN GO

[caption id="attachment_74507" align="aligncenter" width="451"] DOWNLOAD: http://bit.ly/1TIh6hz[/caption]

Game Day Notes:

Japan and Netherlands have never met at FIFA Women's World Cup (this year marks the World Cup debut for Netherlands). They have competed in three friendly games with Japan winning all three. The winner of this match will play Australia in the quarter-finals in Edmonton on Saturday, June 27.

Japan

• Finished first place in Group C with nine points, winning all three group stage matches: 1-0 over Ecuador, 2-1 over Cameroon, and 1-0 over Switzerland
• Carried one yellow card into the Round of 16: Shinobu Ohno
• Reigning FIFA Women's World Cup champion
• In five of the six FIFA Women's World Cups, the defending champions have made it to the final four
• Japan has only played debutants in this tournament
• Japan and Brazil were the only teams to win all three of their opening round matches
• On her 200^th senior international cap, Homare Sawa became the first player to feature at six FIFA Women's World Cup finals (Brazil’s Formiga equalled the feat a day later)
• Will be without forward Kozue Ando for the remainder of the tournament after she fractured her ankle in the opening game
• Beat USA in 2011 final in a penalty kick shootout
• Lost to USA in 2012 Olympics final
• Reigning Asian Football Confederation (AFC) champion
• Only AFC team to win the FIFA Women's World Cup
• Only AFC team to participate in all seven editions of FIFA Women's World Cup
• Aya Miyama and Nahomi Kawasumi were nominated for 2014 FIFA Women's World Player of the Year
• FIFA world ranking: 4

Netherlands

• Finished third in Group A with four points: tied Canada 1-1, lost 1-0 to China PR, and beat New Zealand 1-0
• Carried three yellow cards into Round of 16
• If Netherlands win, they will qualify for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. If they lose, they will join Switzerland, Norway, and Sweden in a playoff in the spring of 2016
• Netherlands have played in Edmonton/Edmonton/Montreal and now Vancouver, totalling roughly 8,450 km traveled. The only other team to have traveled as many kilometers in this tournament to date is Canada.
• They can become the first newcomer to win a knockout stage game at FIFA Women’s World Cup with a win in tonight’s match. Two of the three 2015 debutants have already been eliminated (Switzerland and Cameroon).
• Best international result for Netherlands prior to reaching the Round of 16 at this year’s tournament is reaching the semifinals at the 2009 UEFA Women's Euro
• Netherlands were the last European team to qualify for the tournament
• 18-year-old Vivianne Miedema scored all three goals in the home-and-away playoff final against Italy that earned the Netherlands their berth in the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup. She has been held scoreless at the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup so far.
• Netherlands competed in 14 matches to qualify for the tournament
• Netherlands is one of three newcomers from UEFA and one of eight newcomers in total to the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup
• Netherlands will host the UEFA Women's Euro for the first time in 2017
• FIFA world ranking: 12