After 48 games, half of the teams have been sent home. And yet it feels as if the field of potential winners is bigger than it was at the start.
![Japan played its way into contender status with three dominant victories.](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2023/08/04/multimedia/04wwc-last16-japan-wbcl/04wwc-last16-japan-wbcl-superJumbo.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp)
There are a few things that can be known for certain. Canada, the Olympic champion, will not add a Women’s World Cup to its list of honors this year.