Well, the Women’s World Cup is officially in full swing.
It’s barely 24 hours since the high drama in Sydney where the Matildas overcame the absence of Sam Kerr to take victory and three points against Ireland to ensure a solid start to their campaign. Since then, there’s been three matches across Australia and New Zealand to give football/soccer fans a taste of what to expect to over the next month. The tournament gets further into gear on Saturday with another four games.
The key news late today is that Matildas star Kerr is unlikely to feature in the group stage at all, which means missing next Thursday’s match against Nigeria and the game against Canada a few days later. Her injury status will hang over the Matildas during possibly the biggest sporting showcase in Australia since the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
Good night everyone. Enjoy the upcoming month.
Spain’s early warning about World Cup credentials
Spain have sent an early warning to their Women’s World Cup rivals with a devastating first-half display in a 3-0 victory over Costa Rica in Wellington.
La Roja scored three goals across the space of six manic minutes during the first half to set up the easy win in the Group C clash on Friday night.
The scoreline would have been even more comprehensive if not for Costa Rica goalkeeper Daniela Solera, who saved a first-half penalty amid a host of stunning saves for the match.
Olga Carmona of Spain takes on Melissa Herrera of Costa Rica Credit: Getty Images
The final result was in stark contrast to the 1-1 draw fought out between the two teams at the 2015 World Cup.
Spain didn’t qualify for their first World Cup until 2015, and last year 15 players went on strike in a bid to oust coach Jorge Vilda and demand other changes from the Spanish football federation.
Vilda won that stand-off and his rejigged squad - missing most of those players who revolted - loom as one of the teams to beat at the World Cup.
Spain stamped their authority on Friday’s match from the outset, unleashing wave after wave of attacks to put Costa Rica’s defence under all sorts of pressure.
It seemed only a matter of time before Costa Rica cracked and it came in the 21st minute when defender Valeria del Campo turned the ball into her own net from close range.
The scoreline read 2-0 two minutes later when Aitana Bonmatí unleashed a curling strike from inside the box.
Costa Rica were in disarray at 3-0 down in the 27th minute when Esther Gonzalez volleyed the ball home after a teammate’s header crashed off the crossbar.
Star Spanish striker Jennifer Hermoso had the chance to make it 4-0 in the 34th minute but her penalty was saved by Solera, who stood her ground to easily block the shot.
Spain unleashed 46 shots to one for the match, and could have easily won 6-0 if they had been more ruthless in front of goal.
AAP
Group Standings
For the two groups where all nations have played one match:
GROUP B Australia - 3 points Canada -1 point Nigeria - 1 point Ireland - 0 points
GROUP A Switzerland - 3 points New Zealand - 3 points Norway - 0 points Philippines - 0 points
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Full-time: Spain 3 Costa Rica 0
It took six minutes of dominance for Spain to get the job done versus Costa Rica, scoring all three goals in a purple patch before 30 minutes had elapsed.
Catch up on all the match details, including statistics, HERE.
Spain’s Esther Gonzalez, left, and Costa Rica’s Mariana Benavides compete for the ball.Credit: AP
Exclusive: FIFA deletes fans’ videos from social media
By Ben Cubby
Fans who shared footage taken inside World Cup stadiums have had their videos wiped from social media after complaints from football’s organising body FIFA.
Strict rules buried in the 13 pages of fine print that accompany match tickets specify that people not broadcast “live or near live” material from the grounds on their personal social media accounts, to protect broadcaster’s rights.
Australia celebrate at full-time in their first World Cup game.Credit: Getty
But the fine print gives FIFA discretion to decide what constitutes a “near live” broadcast, so that fans who uploaded mobile phone footage of crowds celebrating several hours after the Matildas’ one-nil win over Ireland at Stadium Australia on Thursday had footage deleted.
Spain did the damage early, and don’t look close to giving up their advantage.
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‘One of the most heartbreaking moments’ of Catley’s career
Australia’s World Cup-opening win against Ireland should have been a highlight of Steph Catley’s career. The veteran left-back scored her first World Cup goal in front of 75,784 at Stadium Australia – a clinical penalty – and was then named player of the match.
But Sam Kerr’s untimely withdrawal had taken the shine off Thursday night’s win before it even happened. Kerr, the Matildas’ captain and talisman, injured her calf during training on Wednesday.
Steph Catley celebrates after scoring the Matildas’ winning goal from a penalty.Credit: Edwina Pickles
The major bombshell was announced one hour before their first Group B match in Sydney, but the team was told on Wednesday night that the 29-year-old had been ruled out both against Ireland and then Nigeria in Brisbane on July 27.
“It was tough; I think it was probably one of the most heartbreaking moments of my career,” Catley said after coming off the field on Thursday night.
More than three times as many people tuned in to watch the Matildas’ opening match in the FIFA Women’s World Cup on Thursday night as did the first session of the Ashes fourth test.
Australia’s love affair with the Australian women’s soccer team continued, as the match with Ireland, which Australia won 1-0, drew a five-city metro audience of 1.24 million viewers on Seven, according to overnight figures released by ratings agency OzTam.
Matildas in action: Katrina Gorry and Steph Catley.Credit: Reuters, Getty Images
That made it the most-watched program of the night by a considerable margin, watched by almost 50 per cent more viewers than the second-most-watched program of the night, Seven’s 6pm news bulletin, which drew 827,000 viewers.
