WELLINGTON, New Zealand — Argentina and South Africa settled for an exciting 2-2 draw in their Women’s World Cup Group G clash at Dunedin Stadium on Friday that kept both teams alive in the tournament but dented their hopes of progressing.
The South Americans had to fight back from 2-0 down after the Africans scored goals through Linda Motlhalo on the half hour mark and Thembi Kgatlana in the 66th minute.
Motlhalo tapped the ball into the net from a Kgatlana pass after the winger had raced onto a long ball with the Argentinian defenders standing still assuming she was offside. VAR confirmed Kgatlana had been behind the last defender.
For all their neat approach work, Argentina looked unable to threaten Kaylin Swart in the South African goal and their first attempts on target did not come until the second half.
In the 74th minute, though, Sophia Braun launched a stunning long-range strike that curled into the corner of the net to cut the deficit in half and Romina Nunez’s header five minutes later levelled up the scores.
The entertaining draw leaves both sides with a single point – South Africa’s first in five World Cup matches — and highly unlikely to progress from a group also containing European powers Sweden and Italy, who play later on Saturday.
“It is about taking our chances,” said South Africa coach Desiree Ellis.
“That’s the problem, we don’t take them, it comes back at us every time. If we had taken our chances we would have had a different conversation.
“It is fantastic we got our first point but three would have been better, it’s like you hand me a chocolate and then take it away, and I love chocolate.”
Argentina will now face Sweden on Wednesday, while South Africa play Italy at the same time with both teams looking for an historic first Round of 16 berth.
“We never gave up and we played our hearts out. We wanted to win but we are happy with this comeback,” midfielder Braun said.
“We are looking forward to playing Sweden. It will be another battle and we are ready for it.”
Nigeria stuns co-hosts Australia
Second-half goals from Osinachi Ohale and Asisat Oshoala gave Nigeria a stunning 3-2 win over Australia to leave the co-hosts in danger of an early exit.
In front of 49,156 fans in Brisbane the Matildas missed a golden chance to reach the last 16 and instead now face a must-win final group game against Canada.
In contrast, Nigeria top Group B and play Ireland — who are already out of contention — with the knockout rounds in sight.
Captain Steph Catley felt that the Australians — who actually took the lead and dominated in the first half — had enough chances to win the game.
But she conceded: “They were great on the counter and they finished their chances. We’ve just got think to Canada now.
“A lot of things (went wrong). We weren’t patient enough at times and we weren’t clinical enough,” she told Optus Sport according to AFP.
“We had a lot of set-pieces tonight that usually maybe one or two go in.
“We’ve just got to move on as quick as possible because this is what World Cups are about.
“Our backs are up against the wall now, and it’s not how we would have liked it, but nothing good comes easy.”
A Nigeria win seemed improbable after a first period which Australia dominated, although they struggled to break down the Super Falcons’ defence.
Nigeria frustrated Olympic champions Canada in their opening 0-0 draw and did the same to the Matildas, who lacked the penetration that the injured duo of Sam Kerr and Mary Fowler would have given them.
Australia finally got reward for their dominance in the first minute of stoppage time when a poor goal kick from Nigerian keeper Chiamaka Nnadozie was picked off and Caitlin Foord’s low cross was met by Emily van Egmond, who calmly slotted the ball into the net.
But any hopes of taking a 1-0 lead into the break were dashed in the last play of the half.
Rasheedat Ajibade cut inside and her shot deflected into the path of Uchenna Kanu, who beat Australian goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold with a prodded finish at the back post.
Ohale put Nigeria in front in the 65th minute when she headed home after Arnold could only parry a shot into her path.
Barcelona’s Oshoala, who came on as a replacement after half-time, then took advantage of a mix-up between Arnold and defender Alanna Kennedy to get between them and fire home from an acute angle.
Australia got one back through Kennedy in the 10th minute of stoppage time but the Nigerians held on for a famous victory.
Portugal beats Vietnam
Portugal’s Telma Encarnacao scored one goal and set up the other in a 2-0 win over Vietnam, sending the South-east Asian side out of the tournament at Waikato Stadium.
Portugal are third in Group E with three points and will face the US in their final group game in Auckland while Vietnam, yet to score or pick up a point, take on the Netherlands in Dunedin. Both matches will be played on Tuesday.
The US is level on four points with the Netherlands but top the table on goal difference after the teams drew 1-1.
Portugal coach Francisco Neto made seven changes to the team that lost 1-0 to the Netherlands in their Group E opener and the decision paid off as first-half goals from Encarnacao and Francisca Nazareth earned them a first ever World Cup win.
Neto will be thrilled with today’s accomplished performance as Portugal dazzled under the floodlights — a stark contrast to their struggling first display — although the scoreline did not reflect their dominance.
Encarnacao swept Portugal in front after seven minutes with a smart first-time finish from Lucia Alves’ cross before turning provider for Nazareth, who fired the ball past goalkeeper Tran Thi Kim Thanh in the 21st minute.
Only 11 places separate the two teams in the world rankings, with Portugal sitting higher at 21, but the contest was one-sided and the Europeans were firmly on top throughout with five attempts on target in the first half alone.
They could not add more gloss to the result, however, as Kim Thanh, who helped restrict holders the United States to three goals in Vietnam’s opening defeat, was once again key in ensuring they did not concede more than two.
However, despite Kim Thanh’s efforts, Vietnam struggled to create chances and managed only one shot on target in the match when Nguyen Thi Bich Thuy drew a save from Patricia Morais just before the break.
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