The Netherlands have qualified for the quarter-finals of the Women’s World Cup after defeating South Africa 2 – 0 in the Round of 16 match played in the early hours of Sunday.
According to The Independent, a header by Jill Roord gave the Netherlands an early lead and Lineth Beerensteyn added the second goal courtesy of a goalkeeper error in the second half to secure the Dutch a date with Spain in Wellington on Friday.
Though their first appearance in the World Cup knockout stage, South African players never gave up the fight and were always a threat in the game but Dutch goalkeeper, Daphne van Domselaar, was equal to everything Banyana Banyana fired at her.
Japan are also through to the last-16 and would face the winner of the heavyweight clash between defending champions USA and Sweden, the Independent reports.
The USA are looking vulnerable after scraping through Group E, and the defending champions going out at this stage would leave the tournament wide open.