The United States will play Nigeria in the Women's World Cup 2015 soccer tournament on Tuesday night, with Team USA looking to claim the win that would see them finish top of their group and potentially move through an easier passage in the knock out stages. Today's big game has a start time of 8 p.m. ET from the BC Place Stadium in Vancouver, Canada. The game can be watched on TV on the Fox network, but can also be watched online through live stream via the link below.
The United States will be reasonably happy with how things have gone so far in this Women's World Cup after two games. A 3-1 win over Australia got their World Cup off to the perfect start, and they managed to claim a 0-0 draw against a tough Sweden team in their last game.
That leaves them with four points from their two games so far, which is enough to put them top of Group D. Australia are second with three points after winning their second game 2-0 against Nigeria, where as Sweden lag in third with just two points, after draws with Nigeria and the United States.
Team USA's opposition today, Nigeria, are at the foot of the table with just one point from their opening two games, and they will be hoping to pull off a shock win today against the USA to try and sneak through to the knock out stages.
For the United States, things are relatively simply; win today and they are guaranteed top spot in Group D.
However, a draw may be enough for USA to finish top of the group if either; (i) the Australia and Sweden game ends in a draw, or (ii) Sweden defeats Australia by just a single goal, or (iii) Sweden defeats Australia by two goals, but the United States scores more goals than Sweden in today's games.
A draw for the United States would not be enough to finish top though if; (i) Australia defeats Sweden, or (ii) Sweden defeats Australia by three or more goals, or (iii) Sweden defeats Australia by two goals and the United States scores fewer goals than Sweden today.
Things could get even tighter though if Sweden defeats Australia by two goals, and the USA draws with Nigeria AND scores the same amount of goals as Sweden in today's games. In this instance, lots will be drawn to see who finishes top of Group D out of Sweden and the United States.
If things get worse for the Unites States today and they lose to Nigeria, they can still win the group if they only lose by one goal, and the Sweden vs Australia game ends in a tie.
The United States could drop as low as third place in the group though if; (i) USA loses by two goals against Nigeria and scores fewer than Australia in today's game - if Australia draw with Sweden, or (ii) If USA loses by three or more goals and Sweden vs Australia ends in a tie, or (iii) If USA loses by two or more goals and either Australia or Sweden win today.
All these permutations do matter as they will determine the route each team takes in the next round and beyond, which could ultimately affect how far they go.
If USA finish as group winners, they will play their Round of 16 game in Edmonton against the third place finisher from Group B, E, or F.
Where as if USA finish 2nd in the group they will play Brazil in Moncton on June 21.
If the USA drop down to third place in Group D then they would almost certainly be guaranteed a spot in the Round of 16 as one of the top third place teams. The only way they could finish third and not make it to the next round is if; (i) USA loses to Nigeria by three goals or more, and (ii) Switzerland vs Cameroon ends in a draw, and (iii) Costa Rica defeat Brazil, and (iv) Spain vs Korea ends with a clear winner, and (v) Colombia defeat England. And even if all that took place, then the United States could still sneak through on goal difference.
So assuming USA finish third and do qualify, they would play either Germany in Ottawa, or hosts Canada in Vancouver. Although the match up with Germany would be much more likely bar some extreme final rounds of results.
A match up with Germany in the Round of 16 is certainly something the United States would like to avoid, and they will be going all out to keep things simple - to defeat Nigeria today and guarantee themselves top spot in Group D and a much easier match up against a third place finisher in the next round.
Today's big Women's World Cup 2015 game between the United States and Nigeria has a start time of 8 p.m. ET and can be watched on TV on the Fox network or online through live stream by clicking here.
