The group play in the Women’s World Cup Soccer yielded few surprises. Most of the teams that were expected to succeed did advance.

Group A saw the United States go undefeated, allowing only one goal in three games. Runner-up in the group was Nigeria, the first African team ever to advance beyond the first round of the tournament.

In group B, Brazil won with a late equalizer against Germany in the last game of the group. The Germans secured second place in the group, but will face tough opposition when they meet the United States in the quarterfinals.

Group C was won by Norway, the reigning champion from 1995. The team was undefeated in the first round. Russia also qualified from the group by beating Canada 4-1.

China won group D with the same goal difference as Norway, recording three wins in their first three games. Sweden secured the second place in the group after beating Ghana in Chicago last Saturday.

In the quarterfinals, China meets Russia this Wednesday evening. Later that night, Norway takes on rival Sweden. The winners of these two games meet in the first semifinal on Sunday.

In the other end of the bracket, the United States plays Germany this Thursday afternoon in Washington, D. C. Brazil and Nigeria meet the same at the same place. The winners of these games will meet in San Jose on Sunday.

The top scorer in the tournament so far is Brazilian striker Sissi with six goals. Sun Wen from China has scored five, and three players have scored three goals each. Sixty players have scored in the tournament in the group games, recording 94 goals in 24 games. This gives an average of 3.9 goals per game.

The tournament has also drawn more spectators than the two previous world cups. The last world cup, hosted in Norway and Sweden, drew a total attendance of 112,000. As a comparison, Team USA had in excess of 130,000 spectators in their first two games only.