The buzz: Nigeria advanced to the knockout round for the first time in two decades when Francisca Lara’s penalty-kick try in injury time of the Chile-Thailand game struck the crossbar, sending the Nigerians through on goal differential and touching off a wild celebration at the Nigerian team’s hotel. Nigeria’s only win of the tournament came against South Korea, but the Super Falcons played France tough in the final group-stage match, eventually losing on Wendie Renard’s penalty kick in the 79th minute. Now, they get No. 2 Germany, a two-time Women’s World Cup champion who is unbeaten and unscored upon in this tournament. Germany’s first two wins came by 1-0 scores, but the team seemed to find its stride in a 4-0 victory over South Africa in its final group-play match. Germany, which has played in all eight Women’s World Cups, has never lost a round-of-16 match, reaching at least the quarterfinals in the previous seven tournaments.
