We’re into the quarter-finals of the WSF Women’s World Team Championship at the Madinaty Sporting Club in Cairo, Egypt.
The tournament, which sees four-player squads from each country battle it out in best-of-three-match ties, will be played across two all-glass courts and four traditional courts in Madinaty.
The quarter-finals begin at 17:30 (GMT+2) and will be streamed live and free on WORLDSQUASH.TV, the WSF’s new streaming platform, while fans can attend in person for free (click here to buy tickets).
In addition, viewers in Egypt can watch the action from the outdoor glass court live on ON Sport, with the PSA’s squash.tv and the Olympic Channel also streaming play.
Egypt v Scotland
On the outdoor glass court, which includes commentary and a multi-camera setup, defending champions and pre-tournament favourites Egypt will play 7/8 seeds Scotland in the first tie at 17:30.
Egypt, four-time winners, have been in dominant form so far, with the top seeds – represented by World No.1 Nouran Gohar, World No.2 Nour El Sherbini, World No.3 Hania El Hammamy and World No.6 Nour El Tayeb – yet to drop a game, let alone a match in their three ties so far.
Scotland, who lost their No.1 Lisa Aitken to injury earlier in the tournament and have a 0-2 losing record against Egypt in the World Teams, will have to pull out all the stops if they are to spring what would likely be one of the sport’s greatest upsets.
USA v Canada
Following the Egypt v Scotland tie, there will be a North American derby between No.2 seeds USA and 7/8 seeds Canada. The two teams have met seven times before in the World Team Championship, with the two competing in the first ever edition of the championship, back in 1979.
USA hold a slender 4-3 advantage over Canada and another win today would guarantee them their best ever championship finish after three consecutive fifth-place finishes.
Hong Kong, China v Malaysia
On the indoor glass court, which is a single-camera setup and without commentary, Hong Kong, China face Malaysia in a repeat of last month’s Asian Team Championship, where Hong Kong, China upset the tournament favourites.
Hong Kong, China enjoy a 3-2 record over Malaysia in this championship and will have taken confidence from their upsetting of seven-time champions England yesterday.
Malaysia, meanwhile, will take confidence from their 3-0 win over Hong Kong, China in the pool stage of last edition of the championship.
England v France
The last quarter-final tie pits No.3 seeds England against No.4 seeds France in what appears a mouthwatering clash.
Despite England’s 4-0 World Team Championship record against their neighbours, today’s meeting is anything but a foregone conclusion.
England, missing their No.2 and World No.14 Georgina Kennedy through injury, made solid rather than spectacular progress through the groups, with the defeat to Hong Kong, China surely setting off alarm bells.
France, meanwhile, who began their campaign with an awkward 2-1 win over Japan, appear to be peaking at the right time in the tournament, with Melissa Alves and former World No.2 Camille Serme impressing in France’s victory over Malaysia yesterday.
Elsewhere, plate ties begin to determine the final places of teams who didn’t qualify from the groups. You can follow the progress of teams through the plate competition here. Watch the action live and free on WORLDSQUASH.TV.
Squad Information | Draws and Results
Keep up with the event by following the World Squash Federation on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, WORLDSQUASH.TV, and the official tournament website.