Power Rankings Women’s WC: Norway untouchable as the knockouts begin

The main round is done and we now have our eight World Championship quarterfinalists. But how well have the teams actually performed so far? Our reporter, Ola Selby, breaks it all down ahead of the quarterfinals.

Here are the Power rankings ahead of the quarter-finals:

1: Norway

Ranking ahead of the World Championship: Gold.

They haven’t just been the best team in the tournament so far — they’ve been the clearly best team. Sure, Norway have had a much smoother path than the teams on the “other side” of the bracket, but they can’t do anything other than win their games — and win them convincingly.

Katrine Lunde is, evidently, still the best goalkeeper in the world, and her trophy cabinet at home (has she moved it to Serbia with her?!) looks set to get another piece of silverware before she finishes her incredible national team career after this World Championship. Lunde enters the quarterfinals with a ridiculous 58 percent save rate. Unreal.

Norway have been superior in more or less every area, and that’s why the No. 1 spot here is obvious. They shouldn’t face any real trouble in the quarterfinal against Montenegro either, but a semifinal against France feels far more open.

2: Denmark

Ranking ahead of the World Championship: Silver.

Six games — six wins. Denmark have truly done their job so far and won every match they’ve played. And they’ve done it with style: their winning margins have been 17, 11, 8, 14, 13, and finally 1 (against Hungary).

I’ve been particularly impressed by Julia Scaglione, who has been exactly as good – or even better – than I expected beforehand. The left back dominates the attacking game and now carries this Danish team on her shoulders, of course with help from a few other stars.

Denmark simply look impressive, but they’re facing a tough nut to crack in the quarterfinal:  France.

3: Netherlands

Ranking ahead of the World Championship: Quarter-final.

The Netherlands have impressed from the very start of this championship. Pace, shooting power, and a serious level of intensity in everything they do. They’ve had a bit of… let’s call it bad luck… with tournament draws in recent years. And to be honest, that’s probably the main reason they haven’t reached more medal matches.

Beating France in the final game of the main round — and doing it convincingly — makes me believe they have every chance of winning a medal this time. But first they need to get past Hungary in the quarterfinal, a match that feels completely open on paper.

4: France

Ranking ahead of the World Championship: Bronze.

As for France… yeah, that wasn’t super-impressive against the Netherlands. In fact, for long stretches it was Hatadou Sako who kept them in the game. The Dutch were basically the better team from start to finish — or very close to it.

So where does that leave France? They’re still a seriously strong side with every chance in the world of knocking out Denmark in the quarterfinal, but it’s going to be tough. And with last year’s missed European Championship medal still hanging over them, the pressure on coach Gardillou is massive.

Is it the absence of several star players causing problems? Possibly. But even so, you’d expect more from France’s backcourt. They’ll have to be much better against Denmark than they were against the Netherlands.

5: Germany

Ranking ahead of the World Championship: Semi-final.

How far can this home World Championship take Germany? Potentially very far. Germany have looked like a steamroller at times, clearly benefiting from both home support and strong development from several players.

Despite the goalkeeping not being quite as sharp as it can be, Germany haven’t really had any major issues winning games. Offensively, however, several players have stepped up — including Antje Döll (the team’s top scorer), Nina Engel, and Emily Vogel.

Germany look hungry, powerful, and more than capable of threatening any team in a semifinal. And a semifinal is exactly where they will be after beating Brazil.

6: Hungary

Ranking ahead of the World Championship: Quarter-final.

They were unbelievably close to beating Denmark — which would have allowed them to avoid France in the quarterfinal — but it didn’t happen. To me, Hungary have looked much like they did at last year’s Euros, minus the insanely strong home crowd.

They have an almost complete team with quality on every position and a tactically sharp coach. What has impressed me the most is that Hungary don’t rely on a single player — they have several who step up exactly when needed.

That said, a lot points to their tournament ending after the quarterfinal against the Netherlands.

7: Montenegro

Ranking ahead of the World Championship: Quarter-final.

I’m not entirely sure where Montenegro stand in this championship. At times they’ve looked tired and uninspired, but at the same time they’ve still collected their points and reached the World Championship quarterfinals.

Pletikosic dazzles with her spin moves, Grbic runs the attack, and Jaukovic fires in goals (when she wants to and when her shoulder allows it). And Brnovic is razor-sharp on the line. So there’s plenty to like about this team, even if my expectations for their performance are a bit higher.

Unfortunately for Montenegro, they drew Norway in the quarterfinal — and they will have no chance there, even if they’ve surprised in big matches before.

8: Brazil

Ranking ahead of the World Championship: Main Round.

I’m full of admiration for what Brazil have produced so far at this World Championship. They beat a frankly weak Sweden, and that win laid the foundation for reaching the quarterfinal — their biggest success in quite some time.

They looked solid in the main round too, with comfortable wins against both Angola and South Korea, before being completely dismantled by Norway and Lunde. Has the air gone out of Brazil a bit? Or should we just ignore that Norway game? I think it’s a mix of both. I fear the Brazilian players might feel a bit “satisfied” now after reaching the quarterfinals — and Norway are just brutally good.

With all of that said: Bruna de Paula. What a player.