Paris 2024 Olympic women's football tournament power rankings: No.2 USWNT faces No.3 Japan in quarter-finals

Colombia will hopefully be boosted in the knockout rounds by the returns of both Catalina Usme, from injury, and Mayra Ramirez, from suspension, both of whom help to form one of the most dangerous frontlines on show at the Olympics.

That said, even though the South American nation has impressed in spells at this tournament, it's tough to see it having the ability to beat Spain, the world champion, in its quarter-final. With players like Usme, Ramirez and Linda Caicedo, La Roja will need to watch out, but it is a tough ask for a nation that is still so inexperienced at the highest level.

Brazil has shown both good and bad things through this Olympics, and that was exactly the case again in its final group-stage match. The Selecao was doing a decent job against Spain, causing the World Cup winner some problems on the counter and keeping it out in defense, until a high foot from Marta, its iconic captain, reduced the team to 10.

Not only did Brazil go on to lose that game, thus confirming it would finish as a best third-placed team and get this tough quarter-final draw against host France, it will also be without Marta for the clash. That's a big blow for a huge game.

Against all odds, Canada has made it through to the quarter-finals. The reigning Olympic champion was deducted six points during the group stage after recording an opposition training session with a drone, but the players did brilliantly to keep the noise out, focus on the task at hand and win all three matches to top Group A.

Despite that feat, the draw is still a tricky one, as it is Germany next up. There is a feeling that perhaps Canada will run out of steam, that all that should be dragging the team down will eventually do so. Yet, there is also a sense of unbreakable determination among this group which could continue to take it even further in this tournament.

In spells, France has played some of the very best football at this tournament. The problem is that it has not been regular or consistent enough, with Les Bleues prone to a collapse or off-periods which the opposition can really take advantage of. It will need to work on eliminating those issues as the tournament progresses.

Next up is Brazil, a tough team but one the host would be expected to beat, especially given how on-song players like Marie-Antoinette Katoto and Kadidiatou Diani have looked. However, if it cannot maintain a strong performance over 90 minutes, the South American champion will get opportunities.

It's still not abundantly clear just how big a contender for the gold medal this Germany team is. It comprehensively beat both Australia and Zambia, scoring bags of goals and not allowing too many chances at the other end. But neither side is particularly good defensively, neither has been able to progress to the quarter-finals and it was easily defeated in the clash with the United States in between those two matches.

Germany will need to be more resilient at the back than it was that day if it is to come through against Canada in the next round, as the 2020 Olympic gold medalist will not allow so many opportunities in the final third. In that sense, it will need to be clinical too, with the forwards surely feeling confident after netting eight goals in three games.

After coming through arguably the toughest of the three groups with two wins and an admirable defeat to Spain, Japan's next task is a meeting with the United States, one that is sure to entertain.

There is so much to like about the Nadeshiko, from its ability to move fluidly between playing styles and game plans to the wonderful array of talent that is put out on the pitch to deliver success. What the Asian nation is still yet to show, though, is that it has the ability to be ruthless and get the job done in these latter stages, when it really matters.

With a young group, Japan lacked that a little bit at last year's World Cup. How much have those players learned one year on? We're about to find out.

In what is going to be a close contest, the United States ranks just above Japan before the two meet in the quarter-finals because it has a little bit more of that experience in the pressure moments in its ranks. Whether it is in the dugout with Emma Hayes or on the pitch with players like Lindsey Horan, Crystal Dunn and Rose Lavelle, so many of these characters know what it takes to get over the line.

That could well be the difference in the knockout rounds when there is so little to pick between teams in terms of talent - which the U.S. also has bags of, as it showed in winning all three group games.

Spain remains top of this tree as the team to beat, as it has done ever since this ranking began several months ago. That's because this is a team that firmly asserted itself as the best in the world when it won the World Cup last summer, in results and performances, and has done little to suggest that is not still the case 12 months on.

Notably, Montserrat Tome was the only head coach who had and took the opportunity to rest several key starters in the final group game, and so this talented side is set to go into its quarter-final with Colombia in wonderful condition, too.