Similar to the men's tournament, the women's quarterfinal round began with a showcase of underdog resiliency.
China, which recently hired former Olympic gold-winning Dutch coach Alyson Annan, opened the day with a one-goal win over 2022 World Cup bronze medalist Australia — a team that went undefeated in the pool round (China lost thrice).
In the day's second contest, Argentina rallied from a one-goal deficit to force and win a shootout. The Netherlands took another step forward in defending its Olympic title with a commanding 3-1 win over Great Britain, remaining undefeated in the tournament.
Belgium came away with the final victory of the day, finding two last-quarter goals against Spain to advance to the semifinal for the first time.
The semifinal matches will take place on August 7. The Netherlands will face Argentina, and Belgium will take on China.
Australia vs. China
Though Australia entered the match as the favorite — having gone undefeated in the pool round and facing a Chinese squad that, in recent years, has struggled in international play — China was unrelenting, earning a 3-2 win behind tight offense and caught rebounds.
Since Alyson Annan took the Chinese helm in 2022, the team has markedly improved, moving from eighth place in the Pro League in 2021-22 to fifth in the most recent year to earning gold in the 2022 Asian Games.
In the 10th minute, the Kookaburras were awarded a penalty corner, giving them the edge they needed to jump ahead. Though China goalkeeper Ye Jiao made the initial save, Alice Arnott caught the rebound off Ye's pads and sent it back toward the goal. The ball deflected off Ye's glove and into the cage. Both of Australia's goals came from deflections off of Chinese players.
Two minutes later, China leveled the playing field on another penalty corner, sneakily tucking a drag flick into the net just inches from the right post — a play that began an unanswered three-goal run for the Snow Lotuses.
China's Dan Wen found the second tally for the country, winning a battle with three Australian players in the circle and chipping the ball into the net. Then, five minutes into the third, Zhong Jiaqi grabbed a rebound and slammed it into the net.
Australia cut the deficit to one as the third quarter wound down, but the Steel Roses shut down every chance the Kookaburras got to even the score through the remainder of the contest.
"We knew we could do this, we knew it, but we didn't come here to be in the top four. We came here to be on the top," Annan told her players in a huddle after the game. "We're proud, we're happy, but this is not the end."
Argentina vs. Germany
Almost 57 minutes went by before either team tallied the first score in the grittiest battle of goalkeepers so far in either the men’s or women’s tournament.
With three and a half minutes left in the final quarter, Germany’s Viktoria Huse chased an airborne pass down the field but tripped over the pad of the overzealous Argentinian goalie, who came out of the net to stop the ball ahead of the crease. Huse was awarded a penalty stroke, which landed squarely in the cage.
Argentina’s Eugenia Trinchinetti tied it up on a penalty corner two minutes later, and with no change in score by the end of the fourth frame, the game headed to a shootout.
In the end, it was Argentinian goalie Cristina Cosentino who won the battle, stopping all four German attempts. With two similar backhand tallies in the shootout, the Lionesses, who earned silver in Tokyo, move on to the semifinals.
Netherlands vs. Great Britain
The reigning Olympic champion Dutch team showed their dominance early, chipping a ball just across the goal line from the far left side of the circle 45 seconds into the knockout contest against the Tokyo bronze medalist.
Great Britain’s Hannah French responded midway through the second on a penalty corner, but the Oranje had regained their lead by the end of the frame.
By the top of the fourth quarter, the deficit was much larger than the scoreboard suggested. The Netherlands controlled possession 55% of the time and had entered the circle 24 times compared to Great Britain’s eight. As such, the Oranje took it upon themselves to show why they’re the favorite to win it all again.
In the 46th minute, Luna Fokke potted a rebound to double her team’s lead. Through the fourth, the Netherlands added seven more circle penetrations and ceded just three.
Belgium vs. Spain
In keeping with the theme of the day, the scoreboard didn’t crack until late in the game, but eventually, Belgium found the back of the net to kick off what would become a 2-0 win.
For their first goal, the Belgians took advantage of a Spanish green card, connecting a series of passes that began near midfield and ended on the stick of Delphine-Daphne Marien, who was positioned right in front of the cage. Their second, a penalty corner goal, saw the Belgians juke the goalie by setting up a drag flick aimed at the net and sending it just to the right instead. Charlotte Englebert picked up the shot and dumped it in.
Spain launched a desperate offensive surge in the final 80 seconds of the match, but the burst was no match for the rigid Belgian defense that stood tall all game.