Summer of Soccer Watch Guide: Saturday, August 5

It's just Women's World Cup action on Saturday, as Leagues Cup takes a day off. Here's what's on deck as the knockout rounds start. 

1 a.m. ET

Switzerland vs. Spain

FS1/Universo/Peacock

It's a European Round of 16 to get us started. Switzerland got here in one of the most uninspired ways possible — a 2-0 win over a Philippines team just getting started and a pair of 0-0 draws. But it was good enough to win the group, and the final match knocked out one of the beloved co-hosts. 

Spain had a little more adventuresome time getting to this point, including a 3-0 win against Costa Rica, a 5-0 win against Zambia ... and then a 4-0 blowout to Japan which got some to question whether or not they'd go all the way after all. But oddsmakers have them second in the revised futures — ahead of the U.S. even — and they've certainly got the talent to progress through. 

4 a.m. ET

Japan vs. Norway

FS1/Telemundo/Peacock

Japan has been a fun team to watch. The midfield's been clicking, they've scored 11 goals in three group matches and haven't been scored on yet. It feels like this could be their year after all. 

They'll have to get past Norway first, who shockingly lost the opener 1-0 to New Zealand and then haven't been scored on since. That could certainly change on Saturday, given how many different players are capable of scoring for Japan, but if there's a defense sturdy enough to stop the Nadeshiko, it might be this one. 

10 p.m. ET

Netherlands vs. South Africa

Fox/Telemundo/Peacock

First of all, let's get this narrative out of the way. 

The first of the three "colonial derbies" features a Netherlands team that U.S. fans will be familiar with by now. Even with Vivianne Miedema sadly absent from this tournament, Netherlands has retained some of the talent that got them to the finals four years ago; they were good enough to win the group, overwhelming Vietnam while the U.S. struggled against Portugal. 

South Africa is one of three African teams to break into the knockout rounds, in a group that was fairly unpredictable save for Sweden winning it. Banyana Banyana got a stoppage-time goal against Italy to propel them here. The journey may end with his match, as the Dutch will be heavy favorites, but it's been outstanding to see them get this far.