by The first round of fixtures in this edition of the Women’s World Cup were completed earlier today and several records have already been broken along the way. Here’s a brief recap of the performances that surprised the most and the ones that failed to hit the mark, while peeking at what round two has to offer.
Historic Victories for New Zealand and Australia
Though the host nations did not come away with a large scoreline victory in their opening matches, their success sent a buzz across the stands and the countries. New Zealand lit the competition on fire with Hannah Wilkinson’s header stunning Hege Riise’s Norway. It was the first ever victory in the Women’s World Cup for the Ferns and to achieve it on home soil was the icing on the cake for captain Ali Tanner whose tears of joy made for compelling viewing. On the other hand, Riise’s selection and tactics came under heavy scrutiny following the defeat, with many questioning Guro Reiten’s number eight role, while Barcelona’s Ingrid Engen appeared a shadow of a player isolated in midfield.
The match was followed by heartbreaking news that WWC’s cover girl Sam Kerr would be missing the first two matches through injury. However, the Aussies fought tooth and nails against Ireland and came away with victory following a decisive penalty by vice-captain Steph Catley.
The victories were not just won on the pitch, but also in the stands. The competition has already reached 1.5 million tickets sold, which was the target for the complete competition and has been reached after just five days.
Positive Results for Most European Sides
Denmark’s return to the finals was a victorious one as they beat China by 1-0 in a game that was also a fantastic watch. The Danes secured revenge for a heartbreaking reverse result in 2007 by registering their own late winner thanks to Amalie Vangsgaard.
Switzerland’s coach Inka Grings will have been relieved to see her side emerge victorious by a solid two-goal margin against the Philippines, marking the team’s first victory since she took charge. Meanwhile, Sweden came back from behind against South Africa to win 2-1. It spared the Scandinavian side blushes against a South African team that mostly executed their game plan to perfection despite the gulf in FIFA world ranking. Hildah Magaia appeared to be sending the ‘Banyana Banyana’ to a historic victory, before Fridolina Rolfo drew level. The South African’s hopes of a draw were dashed by Amanda Illestedt’s towering header in the final minutes of the match.
Meanwhile, the Netherlands had their work cut out for them against a strong-willed Portuguese side, but the 2019 runners-up were spurred to victory by Stefanie Van de Gragt’s expert header. The fact that the veteran will hang up her boots following the end of the competition makes the goal even more special. Despite a rejuvenated offensive line, the Oranje still appear to struggle to score from open play without the prolific Viviana Miedema who is still sidelined with the ACL injury. Photographs of forward Lineth Beerensteyn leaving the stadium on crutches following a hefty challenge which ended her match, adds to the woes, but one hopes that the injury is not too critical.
However, the side whose lack of goals from open play has drawn most attention is that of England, who emerged victorious against debutants Haiti thanks to Georgia Stanway’s penalty. The European holding champions’ notable injuries to Beth Mead, Fran Kirby and captain Leah Williamson have no doubt changed the face of the side, but few would have predicted the goalscoring rut that the Lionesses find themselves in. Coach Sarina Wiegman was pin-point in her assessment, “We needed to be more ruthless. But what does that mean? Sometimes the connections with the cross, the timing of the cross, where the cross ends in the penalty box and little things like that.” On the other hand, Haiti delivered arguably one of the best debutant performances in the competition and Wiegman also heaped praise on them for their speed. As expected they presented a lethal counterattacking threat for the Lionesses, which Sarina Wiegman countered by partnering Jess Carter with Millie Bright in central defence. It was just about enough, together with some expert saves by goalkeeper Mary Earps.
Meanwhile, the Italians kicked off their campaign with a late winner by substitute Cristiana Girelli, against a steadfast Argentinian side. Milena Bertolini’s side actually scored a few more goals but German Portanova’s defence had their offside trap working to perfection. A highly competitive fixture but the Azzurri come away the happier of the two.
However, not all the glory belonged to the Europeans. The final match of Round 1 was between Colombia and South Korea, which also marked the three-hundredth match in the Women’s World Cup competitions. Catalina Usme opened the scoring from the spot, before Linda Caicedo marked her debut with a goal curled from the edge of the box. Despite the 2-0 loss South Korea made some history too, by making sixteen year-old Casey Phair the youngest player to grace the Women’s World Cup. She came off the bench in the second half.
France Held by Jamaica, as Nigeria and Canada Cancel Each Other Out
‘Les Bleues’ were frustrated by the ‘Reggae Girls’ in a match that saw France enjoy the lion’s share of possession but unable to find the back of the net. Jamaica undoubtedly come away from the match the happier of the two, but their celebrations will have been marred by the fact that captain and star striker Khadija Shaw will miss the match against Panama after being sent off for a double booking offence.
Plenty was also expected of the match between Nigeria and Canada, in an encounter that proved true to predictions. The two fought hard over every square inch of the pitch, with tackles flying across the pitch in a highly physical match. However, neither were able to come away with a victory, perhaps most crucially due to a fantastic performance by Nigeria’s goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie who denied Christine Sinclair from the penalty spot.
Brazil, Germany, Spain, Japan and the USA set the bar high
The reigning champions, USA, opened their commitments with a comfortable 3-0 victory against debutants Vietnam, though the score could also have been higher not least because of a missed penalty. The USWNT’s new prodigy Sophia Smith grabbed a brace with many already touting her to be amongst the favourites for the golden boot at the end of the competition.
There was plenty of excitement for the match between Zambia and Japan, a prospect likely to have been boosted by Zambia’s surprise victory against Germany in the build-up to the competition. However, it proved nothing of the sort and instead the Japanese cruised to a 5-0 victory. The Japanese side showed exactly why they belong among the top nations in the world and that they will take the fight to the Spaniards to top the group.
Meanwhile, Spain won their encounter against Costa Rica by a comfortable margin of 3-0. However, it was a score which could have been much higher considering the number of chances created by the Spaniards. In fact, the side had a total of 45 shots, but their expected goals tally stood at 5.44. It confirms that statistically the team should have won by a larger margin, but more importantly the side will need to be more effective against stronger sides if they want to translate their possession dominance into victories.
Brazil were expected to win their fixture against Panama, which they did by 4-0. However, it was the way they executed the victory that lit up the competition and confirmed the side’s place amongst the favourites to lift the trophy. A hat-trick from Ary Borges places her at the top of the goalscorers list and made for a dream debut. She also was cool as a cucumber with a backpass to tee up Beatriz for the third goal which was arguably the best team goal on display thus far. Despite the scoreline, the introduction of Riley Tanner for Panama showed a few nerves at the back which the Selecao will need to shore up if they are to reach the latter stages of the competition.
Any doubts raised about Germany’s strength following their defeat against Zambia in the send-off game, were swiftly dismissed after they thrashed debutants Morocco by 6-0. Two own goals helped them on their way, but the victory was long in the bag by then. Alexandra Popp grabbed a brace, making her the joint third all-time goalscorer with Inka Grings, with the latter incidentally currently also competing as the head coach of Switzerland. The rest of the goals were made up by Klara Buehl and substitute Lea Schuller.
What to Expect from Round 2
The second match of the group stage is crucial for those looking to secure an early passage to the knockout stages. New Zealand and the Philippines have already kicked off the second round, but it was the Philippines who came out on top thanks to a lone goal by Sarina Bolden. The Ferns were all hands to the pump, but were denied by an outstanding display, perhaps most notably by Olivia McDaniel. The VAR decision to rule out Jacqui Hand’s goal will likely to be of some debate too.
It was followed by a tight encounter between Switzerland and Norway. The onus was on Norway to force the affair following their opening defeat against New Zealand, but had to settle for a draw against the stubborn Swiss who currently top Group A. Hege Riise’s decision to drop Caroline Graham Hansen and Ingrid Engen will be scrutinised, while a reported groin injury for Ada Hegerberg adds further woes to the side who have just one point from two matches.
There are plenty of matches still to go. The second round will also set forth a rematch of the 2019 Women’s World Cup final, as the defending champions USA face the Netherlands in Group C. Group B is also still quite open, with interesting matchups on display between Australia and Nigeria, while Canada will face Ireland.
Two European powerhouses will go against each other on Friday as England face Denmark, while the Saturday match between France and Brazil will definitely have viewers glued to the screens.
