FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 live schedule, groups, results: Philippines beat co-hosts New Zealand
Former Matildas coach Alen Stajcic has led the Philippines to a massive upset in Wellington, leaving New Zealand stunned and their plans for progression into the knockout stages in tatters.
The Philippines have caused a massive upset, beating co-hosts New Zealand at the Cake Tin in Wellington.
For the visitors, coached by former Matildas coach Alen Stajcic, it is their first win at a World Cup.
Stajcic embraced the emotions of the group after their upset win giving an emotional interview after the game.
Stajcic called the landmark win “emotional for all of us. It’s unbelievable”. “Of course we rode our luck. New Zealand had three or four unbelievable chances and the VAR call,” he said, referring to a disallowed goal in the second half.
“The unity and work rate and heart from the team was special. We had some luck, but we also earned our luck.”
A first half goal from Sarina Bolden was enough for the visitors, who survived a second-half off-side scare against the Football Ferns.
Keeper Olivia McDaniel was the hero in the second half, coming up big between the sticks, producing a remarkable save as the game was coming to a close.
The result blows Group A wide open, with a number of possibilities still available for who gets to the knockout stage.
“I’ve got everyone else’s tears all over my eyes.â€
— Optus Sport (@OptusSport) July 25, 2023
The emotion. The passion. This is everything and more â¤ï¸
Alen Stajcic and a post-game interview for the ages.#FIFAWWC#OptusSportpic.twitter.com/7FAwH8dC5m
8:00PM: WILL SAM KERR EVEN RETURN?
Sam Kerr’s calf injury has made more headlines than anything this World Cup.
Once the secret became public knowledge and the world knew the superstar would miss Australia’s opening two matches, attention quickly focused on how feasible it would be for the Chelsea striker to return for game three against Canada.
A calf strain is what we were told less than an hour before the Matildas first clash against Ireland last week.
Kerr has remained tight lipped since the news broke but was adamant she had a role to play at the tournament.
Now however one of her teammates may have let slip the severity of the injury.
“It’s unfortunate that Sam tore her calf before the game, but I think we’re just focusing on Nigeria,” Kyra Cooney-Cross said on Monday.
A tear not a strain?
Well that throws the timeline of a return well off schedule with fears now that Kerr has sustained something far worse than originally thought.
The Matildas play Nigeria on Thursday night before meeting Canada next Monday.
7:30PM: DULL AFFAIR LEAVES GROUP A ALL TO PLAY FOR
A 0-0 draw between Switzerland and Norway leaves Group A all up for grabs when Matchday 3 rolls around the corner.
Norway had the better of the chances between the two sides, with Swiss keeper Gaelle Thalmann making an incredible save late in the piece to keep out Norway.
The draw means that Norway, the pre-tournament favourites in this group are languishing in last place, needing a win against the Philippines and Switzerland to beat New Zealand to get through the group.
Gaelle Thalmann makes a stunning save to keep Norway out 🙅â€â™€ï¸
— Optus Sport (@OptusSport) July 25, 2023
She saw it late and still pulled out all the stops.
Class.
Watch LIVE | https://t.co/1DGBbAKItU#FIFAWWC#OptusSportpic.twitter.com/9QtWRjnlGA
4:20PM: PHILIPPINES MAKE HISTORY! MAJOR UPSET ON THE CARDS?
The Philippines have become the first debut side to score at this year’s World Cup and are on track to cause a major boilover in Wellington against the Football Ferns.
A lovely cross from the right wing allowed Sarina Bolden, who plays her club football for Western Sydney Wanderers to rise above the Kiwi defenders, sending her side into raptures.
The Philippines were beaten 2-0 in their first clash with Switzerland.
A victory for the Football Ferns could have sealed a passage to the Round of 16, can the home side climb back into the game in the second half?
THE PHILIPPINES MAKE HISTORY AT THE FIFA WOMEN’S WORLD CUPâ„¢ 🇵ðŸ‡
— Optus Sport (@OptusSport) July 25, 2023
What. A. Moment!
Watch LIVE | https://t.co/T8ONSgHjo2#FIFAWWC#OptusSportpic.twitter.com/8NKKjVucFN
3.45PM: KOREA COACH BLASTED OVER ‘BAFFLING’ INTERVIEW
South Korea coach Colin Bell has been savaged for ‘throwing his players under the bus’ following their disappointing 2-0 defeat to Colombia, with comments that left former Matildas Heather Garriock ‘baffled’.
The Koreans were comfortably outplayed by Colombia in their World Cup opener on Tuesday – conceding twice in the opening half in a game in which they struggled to make an impact.
And Bell didn’t hold back in his post-match interview, taking aim at Korea as a football nation.
“Just in various departments Colombia were the better team, stronger team, so we have to learn from that,” Bell said.
“Again the speed of thought, the aggression, but it’s that decision-making in pressured situations and that’s where we have to step up as a nation. That’s where everybody that’s involved in women’s football in Korea has to step up.
“We need to play faster. We need to work harder.”
Garriock was disappointed with the lack of accountability from the coach and made her feelings known on Optus Sport.
“That post-match interview by the coach was so mediocre, especially if you’re a Korean player listening to your coach,” Garriock said.
“He’s thrown the players under the bus. He took no responsibility for it.
“The second goal, a goalkeeper mistake, she’s going to be upset about that, hearing your coach say that.
“He has the opportunity to change things. 90 minutes in a game. He was negative on all facets. I’m baffled by that interview.”
2.25PM: COLOMBIA PUNISH SLOPPY SOUTH KOREA
Gifted teenager Linda Caicedo scored as Colombia beat a disappointing South Korea 2-0 to open their Women’s World Cup campaign on Tuesday.
The 18-year-old Real Madrid striker, who overcame cancer three years ago, was the beneficiary of a glaring goalkeeping error against a blunt South Korea.
One of the best young attackers in women’s football, Caicedo has now scored at the Under-17 World Cup, the Under-20 World Cup and the biggest one of them all.
Catalina Usme had earlier scored a penalty for Nelson Abadia’s side, losing Copa America finalists to Brazil last year.
They move onto three points in Group H with Germany, who thrashed Morocco 6-0 on Monday. Germany and Colombia meet next.
2:05PM WHAT WERE YOU DOING AGE 16?
Casey Phair has became the youngest player to feature at a Women’s World Cup after coming on as a substitute for South Korea against Colombia aged 16 years and 26 days.
The striker was born in the United States and was called up by the country at youth level, but has now made her debut for South Korea.
She came on in the 78th minute in Sydney and so trumped Nigeria’s Ifeanyi Chiejine, who was 16 years and 34 days when she played at the 1999 World Cup.
Phair, born to an American father and Korean mother, is the first player of mixed descent to make the senior South Korean women’s football squad.
1:45PM CANCER AT 15YO TO INSANE GOAL ON WORLD CUP DEBUT
At just 14-years-old Linda Caicedo was called up to make her international debut for Colombia.
Just 12 months later she was left devastated by an ovarian cancer diagnosis. She thought her career was over.
“I remember I was going into surgery one day and I was feeling really bad,” Caicedo said, “because I thought that I was not going to be able to play top-level football again.
“He (Colombia coach) said, ‘No, just relax, you’re going to come back’.”
Caicedo, 18, is now one of Colombia’s best talents and today, not only has she made her World Cup debut in her nation’s clash with North Korea, but she scored a sublime goal.
“She burns the first defender and gets outside. Pulls back and she’s on target,” Heather Garriock said of the goal.
“You make your own luck and she’s created that chance.”
Caicedo is now the youngest goalscorer so far this tournament.
12:10PM WORLD CUP’S MOST CONTROVERSIAL TATTOO
Fans have spotted a controversial tattoo on the leg of Argentina star Yamila Rodriguez.
La Albiceleste got their Women’s World Cup campaign under way on Monday, losing their opener to Italy 1-0.
Rodriguez, 25, came off the bench in the game but supporters were left shocked after seeing a tattoo of Cristiano Ronaldo’s face on her leg.
The Al-Nassr star has had a long rivalry with Argentine hero Lionel Messi in a battle to be regarded as the greatest player ever.
And after his World Cup triumph in Qatar last year, surely all from his home nation back Messi in the GOAT debate.
But Rodriguez is firmly in team Ronaldo.
Speaking ahead of the World Cup, she explained her tattoo, saying: “Ronaldo is, without a doubt, the best player in the world.
“I watched him play and thought: how can he be so perfect? He surprises me with everything that he does.
“With this tattoo, now I have Cristiano with me forever.”
Rodriguez also named Ronaldo as her idol and stated “not Messi” in an interview last summer.
`11:30AM TREAT WOMEN WITH MORE RESPECT
Former Matildas star Heather Garriock is pleading for female athletes to be treated with respect, calling for an end to discussions about the balance of motherhood and professional sport.
Six days into the Women’s World Cup there have been several divisive moments – particularly in match commentary – that have sparked furious debate about the handling of women’s sport.
During the Matilda’s opening clash with Ireland last week, Ch7 pundit David Basheer made a reference about Gorry’s return to professional football after having given birth which shocked many spectators.
“Certainly motherhood has not blunted her competitive instincts, that’s for sure,” Basheer said.
Many were offended by the supposition that somehow becoming a mother would stunt one’s competitive edge and that such comments were not made in men’s sport.
There has also been a large collective of fans calling pundits out for continually making reference to the fact there are mothers playing when the same observation would not be made in men’s sport.
Garriock, a mother herself, has had enough.
“Why are we continuing to have this conversation when we have so many global superstars having children and coming back?” she said on Optus Sport.
“It’s not a conversation. Of course you’re going to come back better, bet fitter faster, stronger and have more balance. It’s not a conversation any more, we need to stop talking about it.
10:42AM IRELAND’S STAR’S HORROR PAST
After years of adversity and heartbreak, Ireland’s Sinead Farrelly finally got her World Cup debut.
A near career-ending car crash was followed by revelations of bullying and sexual offences.
Now the 33-year-old is in a better place.
Farrelly was once a rising star in US football before the aforementioned dramas forced her into a seven year break from the sport.
Heroically she became a whistle blower against Paul Riley - Liverpool-born coach turned US soccer magnate - that she alleges “ruined her life”.
Farrelly played under Riley at three clubs before exposing his controlling and coercive behaviour.
She even refused a spot at the 2011 World Cup because of him.
A year later Farrelly accused Riley of getting her drunk and coercing her into his hotel room where they had sex.
In 2021 Farrelly went public with her accusations prompting an inquiry. While Riley denied it all he became one of numerous coaches banned for life by the National Women’s Soccer League
Farrelly switched her allegiance to Ireland and only made her international return at the start of this year.
9:30AM BBC ‘SORRY’ FOR GAY PLAYER PROBE
The BBC has issued an apology after one of its journalist sparked outcry at the World Cup when they asked Morocco’s captain about gay players within the squad.
Ahead of the side’s opening clash with Germany on Monday, Ghizlane Chebbak was asked: “In Morocco, it’s illegal to have a gay relationship. Do you have any gay players in your squad and what’s life like for them in Morocco?”
The line of questioning was immediately shut down by FIFA owing to its political nature and moreover the risk it posed to player safety, but the reporters didn’t stop there.
“Sorry, this is a very political question, so we’ll just stick to questions relating to football.”
“No, it’s not political,” the journalist replied. “It’s about people, it’s got nothing to do with politics. Please let her answer the question.”
Video of the exchange has gone viral forcing the BBC to respond.
“We recognise that the question was inappropriate. We had no intention to cause any harm or distress,” the broadcast house said in a statement.
Shireen Ahmed, a reporter for CBC Sports that was in the room, said the incident was “out of line”.
“Asking a player about her teammates and whether they are gay and how it affects them when you know it is not permissible is bizarre and out of line. The captain cannot out players nor comment on policy bc [because] it could be dangerous for them, too,” Ahmed wrote.
“If reporting harms someone, it is not only unethical but dangerous.”
Morocco captain Ghizlane Chebbak’s almost in disbelief reaction to the question, says it all.
— SHE scores bangers (@SHEscoresbanger) July 24, 2023
A completely unethical out of line question that poses safety concerns to the players he asking to be named.
Bizarre push followed.
pic.twitter.com/MKk84O774E
8:45AM MATILDAS STAR RESPONDS TO ‘SEXIST COMMENTARY’ SAGA
Matildas star Katrina Gorry’s name was making headlines the morning after Australia’s opening World Cup victory over Ireland - but unfortunately it wasn’t for her performance on the field.
The star midfielder’s name was caught up in a ‘sexist commentary’ furore after Ch 7’s David Basheer made a comment that divided fans.
”Certainly motherhood has not blunted her competitive instincts, that’s for sure,” Basheer said.
Many were offended by the supposition that somehow becoming a mother would stunt one’s competitive edge and that such comments were not made in men’s sport.
When asked about it, Gorry confirmed she had heard what was said and understood why it had upset so many people but was choosing to move on.
“I’ve heard about it – I don’t take things like that too personally,” she said.
“I don’t really look at things like that but I can see how it got taken the wrong way.
“I’m sure he didn’t mean it in a negative way. Sometimes things just come out in the wrong way, but it is what it is.”
Gorry is mum to Harper who is almost two.
The Matildas continue their campaign against Nigeria this Thursday night with a win almost certain to secure them a spot in the knock out stages after their 1-0 victory over Ireland.
7:20AM GOAL OF THE TOURNAMENT
Something incredible happened last night.
Of the 65k odd views on this goal, I probably account for at least 5k.
Bia Zaneratto goal for Brazil is nothing short of perfection.
It was one of four scored by the south American side with Ary Borges netting a hat trick.
BRAZIL. STOP THAT. 🇧🇷
— Optus Sport (@OptusSport) July 24, 2023
It’s the goal of the tournament so far. It’s Joga Bonito. It’s perfect.
Watch | https://t.co/GcCWyPHaKX#FIFAWWC#OptusSportpic.twitter.com/TaCOpMQP9B
7AM WORLD CUP MINNOWS CLOSING THE GAP
(AFP)
With the opening round of group games completed, fears that a first 32-team Women’s World Cup would see a flurry of embarrassing mismatches appear largely misplaced.
Admittedly, Morocco experienced a painful introduction to the tournament on Monday as their debut ended in a 6-0 hammering in Melbourne at the hands of Germany, one of the favourites.
Zambia too suffered a heavy 5-0 loss to former winners Japan, but there has been nothing on the scale of the USA’s 13-0 annihilation of Thailand with which they began their triumphant campaign in 2019.
England, another of the favourites, struggled to break down a Haiti side ranked 53rd in the world and making their World Cup debut.
The European champions only secured a 1-0 win thanks to Georgia Stanway’s penalty.
The United States were expected to rattle in the goals against 32nd-ranked Vietnam but settled for a 3-0 victory in Auckland, although they missed a penalty and the shot count was 26-0.
Similarly, Spain beat Costa Rica 3-0 but it could easily have been more: they had 46 shots to one for their opponents.
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