Perennial underachievers France were held 0-0 by Jamaica to make a frustrating start to their FIFA Women’s World Cup campaign yesterday, but Sweden and the Netherlands both won by slender margins.
France have never lifted the World Cup despite the strength of their women’s domestic league and were defied by a battling Jamaica in the Sydney rain in front of nearly 40,000.
Herve Renard’s side, one of the pre-World Cup favorites along with holders the US and England, hit the woodwork late on and had more possession and chances, but Jamaica refused to fold.
Photo:AFP
The Jamaicans only made their Women’s World Cup debut in the previous edition in 2019 and lost all three games, so this point was a precious first in the competition for them.
The only sour note was the dismissal in injury time of star striker Khadija Shaw for a second yellow card. She is to miss their second game of the tournament against Panama as a result.
The Jamaicans nevertheless celebrated wildly at the final whistle and defender Deneisha Blackwood was paraded in the air.
The French dominated the second half, but were ultimately undone by poor finishing and the courage of a side ranked 38 places below them.
Brazil play Panama in the same group today.
In the first match of day four of the tournament in Australia and New Zealand, Sweden were given a scare by South Africa before winning 2-1.
The third-ranked Swedes fought back from a goal down and conjured up the winner in the 90th minute through Arsenal defender Amanda Ilestedt, much to the relief of their fans in miserably wet conditions in Wellington.
A goal early in the second half by Hildah Magaia — in which she had a match-ending injury — had given South Africa hope of an upset in front of 18,317 spectators.
That was soon canceled out by Barcelona star Fridolina Rolfo before Ilestedt’s late intervention, heading home from close range for a hard-fought victory.
Italy face Argentina today, also in Group G.
Sweden coach Peter Gerhardsson said “nerves and tension” were behind a shaky start to their World Cup campaign.
“It’s OK to be nervous, but you need to have the courage to still make that pass,” Gerhardsson said.
The Dutch, losers 2-0 to the US in the final four years ago, had less trouble against debutants Portugal in city of Dunedin, New Zealand.
Defender Stefanie van der Gragt scored with a powerful header on 13 minutes with what turned out to be the winner.
The Netherlands are to face the US on Thursday in a rematch of their final, with Group E supremacy at stake.
Tallon Griekspoor on Friday stunned top seed Alexander Zverev 4-6, 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (7/4) in the second round at Indian Wells, avenging a devastating loss to the German at Roland Garros last year. Zverev, the world No. 2 who is heading the field of the prestigious ATP Masters event with No. 1 Jannik Sinner serving a three-month drugs ban, is the first Indian Wells men’s top seed to lose his opening match since Andy Murray in 2017. It was a cherished win for Griekspoor, who had lost five straight matches — including four last year — to the German. That included a five-setter
VALUABLE POINT: Relegation-threatened Valencia snatched a thrilling 3-3 draw at CA Osasuna thanks to a remarkable backheel volley by Umar Sadiq Barcelona on Sunday secured a comfortable 4-0 win over Real Sociedad to move back top of La Liga. Aritz Elustondo’s early red card gave Hansi Flick’s side a comfortable afternoon, with Gerard Martin, Marc Casado, Ronald Araujo and Robert Lewandowski on the score sheet. Atletico Madrid beat Athletic Bilbao on Saturday to temporarily knock the Catalans from their perch, while Real Madrid, third, lost at Real Betis Balompie. Flick was able to rotate his side a little ahead of the UEFA Champions League round-of-16 visit to face SL Benfica tomorrow and still move one point above Atletico. “There were a lot of things that
Donovan Mitchell on Wednesday scored 26 points as the Cleveland Cavaliers punched their ticket to the NBA playoffs with a hard-fought 112-107 victory over the Miami Heat. A seesaw battle in Cleveland saw the Heat threaten to end the Cavs’ 11-game unbeaten streak after opening up a seven-point lead late in the fourth quarter, but the Cavs clawed back the deficit in the closing minutes to seal their 12th straight victory and a place in the post-season. The Cavaliers improved to 52-10, maintaining their stranglehold on the Eastern Conference with 20 games of the regular season remaining. Mitchell was one of six Cleveland
Five-time champion Novak Djokovic on Saturday tumbled out of the Indian Wells ATP Masters, falling in his first match to lucky loser Botic van de Zandschulp as two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz advanced. “No excuses for a poor performance,” 24-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic said after 37 unforced errors in a 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 defeat. “It doesn’t feel great when you play this way on the court,” he said. “But congratulations to my opponent — just a bad day in the office, I guess, for me.” Djokovic is just the latest in Van de Zandschulp’s string of superstar victims. He
RSS