Brazil had the flair, the nutmegs and the make-a-defender-fall-on-her-ass moves against Australia.
The Matildas got the 3-2 win.
The Seleçao took a two-goal lead in the first half before Australia stormed back in impressive fashion, scoring three unanswered goals to hand Brazil its first group-stage loss at a Women’s World Cup since 1995.
That was a strange one. In the end, France delighted the 34,872 in attendance at the Allianz Riviera with a 2-1 victory over Norway to move to the top of Group A and all but guarantee passage to the Round of 16, but how they got there was a wild ride.
The first half wasn’t so wild. The atmosphere inside the home of OGC Nice was wonderful, but neither goalkeeper made a save of note in the opening 45 minutes. Thankfully, the home supporters only had to wait one minute to see the opening goal in the second half.
Spain is widely considered a rising power in women’s soccer, and la Roja had a tremendous opportunity to accentuate that sentiment with a victory over two-time world champion Germany on Wednesday. But they blew it, and their failure is compounded by the fact that they’re now possibly on a collision course with the USWNT in the Round of 16.
The majority of the first half was dominated by Spain, and two glorious opportunities fell to Nahikari García to open the scoring in the opening 14 minutes.
It’s been 576 days since the Italian apocalypse at the San Siro in Milan. It was on that fateful evening that Sweden held Italy to a 0-0 draw in a playoff for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, sending the Scandinavian country through 1-0 on aggregate while the Azzurri missed out on their first World Cup in 60 years.
Many utilized the build-up to the USWNT’s World Cup opener against Thailand to criticize manager Jill Ellis, which is an ingenious position to take because you’re right if they win (“In spite of her!”) and you’re right if they lose (“Told ya!”), but after watching the States utilize “the Zdeněk Zeman method” at kick off before shifting into a sort of 2-3-5 in possession, I gotta say, I
For the third game in a row, Manchester United’s David De Gea found himself out of the starting 11 for the Spanish national team in favor of Kepa Arrizibalaga. The Chelsea keeper has proven his worth, having allowed one goal over the three games he’s started, with the goal coming off a cheap deflection against the Faroe Islands.
While Portugal’s national team was for the most part all smiles during the trophy ceremony after its 1-0 Nationals League Final win over the Netherlands on Sunday, one player couldn’t hide his disappointment when it came to individual awards.
For Cristiano Ronaldo, the path to UEFA Nations League glory was exceptionally similar to the one he trod to victory at Euro 2016. After a stunning hat trick in the semis to lift Portugal to the final — much like the towering, match-winning header he planted against Wales at the same stage in 2016 — Ronaldo was subdued at the tournament’s climax.