England booked its ticket to the quarterfinals of the 2011 women's World Cup Tuesday with an impressive 2-0 victory over Japan to claim first place in Group B. Ellen White gave England the best start possible with a 1-0 lead after 15 minutes and Rachel Yankey sealed the victory after 66 minutes. In the meantime, the strong English defense held the vaunted Japan attack — nicknamed the Barcelona of women's football — in check the entire game. England wins the group with seven points while Japan, which had already qualified for the final eight, finishes with six points. In the other early game New Zealand snatched a dramatic 2-2 draw against Mexico in their Group B game, but the result was not enough for either side to reach the quarterfinals. Mexico took a 2-0 lead after 30 minutes thanks to Stephany Mayor and captain Maribel Dominguez, but the Kiwis came back as captain Rebecca Smith scored in the 90th minute then Hannah Wilkinson equalized in the 94th minute. Chile steals show The Copa America got a boost from Chile as it rallied to beat Mexico 2-1 Monday, showing the best attacking football so far in a tournament which has lacked goals and entertaining performances. Esteban Paredes and Arturo Vidal scored second-half goals for Chile, whose top scoring threats –Humberto Suazo and Alexis Sanchez – failed to break through but looked as dangerous as any players in the tournament. In the other Group C match, also played at San Juan, Luis Suarez scored in first-half stoppage time as Uruguay rallied for a 1-1 draw against Peru. All 12 teams have now played one match in the South American championship. Co-favorite Argentina managed only a struggling 1-1 draw with Bolivia, and Brazil was worse in a 0-0 draw with Venezuela.
