FOX Sports FIFA Women’s World Cup Morning Highlights – Friday, June 12

FOX Sports’ coverage of the FIFA WOMEN’S WORLD CUP 2015™ continues with four games today, highlighted by USA vs. Sweden on local FOX stations with coverage beginning at 7:00 PM ET. FOX Sports 1 carries three games, opening the day with Australia vs. Nigeria. Coverage starts at 4:00 PM ET.

See below for the full schedule and for highlights from last night’s FIFA WOMEN’S WORLD CUP TONIGHT.

TODAY’S SCHEDULE
4:00 PM ET – FIFA WOMEN’S WORLD CUP TODAY, FOX Sports 1
5:00 PM ET – Australia vs. Nigeria, FOX Sports 1
(Group D, Winnipeg – JP Dellacamera, Tony DiCicco, Cat Whitehill and Jenny Taft)
7:00 PM ET – Switzerland vs. Ecuador, FOX Sports 1
(Group C, Vancouver – Glenn Davis and Christine Latham)
7:00 PM ET – FIFA WOMEN’S WORLD CUP TODAY, FOX
8:00 PM ET – USA vs. Sweden, FOX
(Group D, Winnipeg – JP Dellacamera, Tony DiCicco, Cat Whitehill and Jenny Taft)
9:00 PM ET – FIFA WOMEN’S WORLD CUP TODAY, FOX Sports 1
10:00 PM ET – Japan vs. Cameroon, FOX Sports 1
(Group C, Vancouver – Jenn Hildreth and Kyndra de St. Aubin)
1:00 AM ET – FIFA WOMEN’S WORLD CUP TONIGHT, FOX Sports 1

FIFA WOMEN’S WORLD CUP TONIGHT Highlights:

Former USWNT player Heather Mitts says Pia Sundhage motivated Team USA with her comments that recently appeared in the New York Times:
“The damage is done. The words are already out there. Carli Lloyd is using that as motivation. We all appreciate Pia for all she did for us, and we think she’s a great coach. I don’t think there are any ill feelings toward her, but the team will definitely use those words as motivation.”

Alexi Lalas says Sundhage is hoping her comments will give Sweden an advantage in the team’s next game vs. the USA on Friday:
“I love Pia because she’s incredibly honest when she talks about herself, about other players, about her team, but she’s using this to her advantage. The damage is done with regards to the U.S., but I’m not sure it’s necessarily damage for Sweden right now.”

Ariane Hingst says it can be difficult to perform as a member of the host country because of the pressure:
“You think you’re going to be prepared for this moment. You are not. You try to do everything to fantasize how it’s going to be, but then you get into the stadium. You’ve got the pressure, you want to do something really special, and this is when your head starts thinking and you just don’t play anymore because you want to do this extra-special thing. You really want to show your family, your people that all come just for you, and this is when you mess it up.”

Former Canadian international Christine Latham says Canada needs to clean up its attack if it wants to be successful:
“They need to clean it up. It was sloppy soccer. They had a lot of fouls that gave New Zealand an opportunity to score, and then up front, the attack just wasn’t connecting. [Christine] Sinclair was off and then Jonelle Filigno and Melissa Tancredi weren’t really involved all game. They need to get themselves more involved in the attacking third with Christine Sinclair if they want to be successful going forward.”

Lalas adds that Sinclair needs to come up big for Canada:
“She’s got to score those goals because if she doesn’t score the goals we all know Canada’s in trouble.”

Latham says a team like Nigeria could have success in the World Cup because they’re unknown and they’re having fun:
“The good thing about Nigeria is they’re unpredictable. Nobody really knows too much about them, they don’t really know their game plan. You know what I love about them, they’re just playing. They love the game of soccer.

“And that will take you far in a World Cup – just having fun.”

A two-time World Cup champion with Germany, Hingst says Germany needs to play well in both halves in order to be successful in the World Cup:
“The way that Germany outplayed Norway [in the first half], I thought they were going to nail it. But, 27 shots on goal and only one goal, this is definitely not enough. Forty-five minutes is not enough to beat a World Cup team.”

Hingst added that the best defense for Germany is a strong offense:
The defensive line of Germany is probably the biggest concern. The best way not to get a goal against Germany is [for Germany] to keep playing offensively. Keep scoring goals. Offense is the best defense.