Women’s World Cup on TV: Monday games include Sweden vs. Canada
What to watch for in the Women’s World Cup soccer tournament Monday:
ROUND OF 16
SWEDEN VS. CANADA
Where: Parc des Princes, Paris
Time: noon PDT
TV: FS1, Universo
The buzz: Having secured passage to the second round after two games, Sweden basically conceded the group-play final to the U.S. by resting seven starters to prepare for the knockout stage. That leaves Swedish manager Peter Gerhardsson under a lot of pressure to win here and prove that strategy correct. Sweden had been nearly perfect until then, scoring seven times and giving up just a stoppage-time goal to Thailand in two games. The Swedes’ seven goals have come from six players with only Kosovare Asllani scoring twice. Canada also won advancement after two group games, posting shutout wins over Cameroon and New Zealand before losing by a goal to the Netherlands. Canada made it to the quarterfinals in the tournament it hosted four years ago, the country’s second-best Women’s World Cup performance. With a Core Four — Christine Sinclair, Desiree Scott, Allysha Chapman and Stephanie Labbe — at least 30 years of age, this team would like to do better than that in France. Only five of the 16 teams to reach the second round scored fewer goals than Canada’s four in group play. But only four teams have been stingier on defense than Canada, which has given up two goals. These teams have played 22 times previously with Sweden leading the series 13-5-4, averaging nearly two goals a game.
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kevin.baxter@latimes.com | Twitter: @kbaxter11
