Women’s World Cup: 5 best moments from the Round of 16

The 2019 Women’s World Cup has been incredible thus far, and the Round of 16 provided football fans with plenty of memorable moments and nail-biting finishes.

Though there weren’t any major upsets in the Women’s World Cup Round of 16, tournament favorites like France and the United States were pushed to their limits by Brazil and sleeper team Spain, respectively. Meanwhile, darkhorses Italy and Norway eliminated China and Australia, and they both look like serious contenders heading into the quarterfinals.

Here are the five best moments from a Round of 16 that featured great goals, VAR drama, and jaw-dropping saves, and crunching slide tackles.

Lieke Martens scores her first of the tournament

One of the best players on this planet, Lieke Martens helped lead the Netherlands to the European Championship two years ago and was named FIFA Women’s Player of the Year. It took her a few games to find the scoring sheet in this year’s World Cup, but given the quality of her goal against Japan, it was worth the wait.

Seriously, this might be the best goal of the tournament and is as good as any goal scored in any competition this year. Martens only needed one touch and the back of her heel to find the net, nutmegging a defender en route to goal.

She also delivered the final blow to Japan, converting a late penalty to give the Netherlands a 2-1 lead and a ticket to the quarterfinals. The Netherlands are the best counterattacking team in this tournament and have looked as strong as France and the United States, boasting difficult wins over Canada and Japan. Now that Martens is firing on all cylinders with Vivianne Miedema and Shanice van de Sanden, the Netherlands should have all the confidence in the world.

What an absolutely stunning goal.