Image: APA/AFP/WILLIAM WEST
MELBOURNE. A penalty in every match – that’s the conclusion from the five games played so far at the Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. The accuracy is manageable: only two attempts from the ominous point found their way into the net. Christine Sinclair, the “Grande Dame” of Canadian football, missed an entry in the history books with her missed shot in the 0-0 draw against Nigeria in front of 21,410 spectators in Melbourne.
The 40-year-old would have been the first across genders to score goals in six World Cups. The sting of disappointment was correspondingly deep. “Christine has done so much for Canada. I’m sure the fans will forgive her for that”said team principal Bev Priestman. Sinclair can’t be blamed too much, her penalty was a good one – low towards the right corner – but Nigeria goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie reacted brilliantly and deflected the ball to the post.
“It’s bitter. We would have liked to have started with a win – and we had enough chances to do so”, said Sinclair, who has had terrific stats in her impressive career. With 324 international matches and 190 goals, the record woman even overshadows her male counterpart Cristiano Ronaldo (200 matches, 123 goals for Portugal).
Another big player in world football is FC Barcelona superstar Alexia Putellas, who is not yet at 100 percent after suffering a cruciate ligament rupture before EURO 2022. That’s why the 29-year-old only came off the bench in the 77th minute of Spain’s 3-0 (3-0) win over Costa Rica to thunderous applause from the 22,966 spectators in Wellington. Everything had already been decided by then. The “Furia Roya” had scored all three goals within 360 seconds before the break (21st, 23rd, 27th) and had the luxury of giving Jennifer Hermoso (34th) a penalty.
“No female Neymar”
The Swiss, who are coached by 96-time German international Inka Grings, won 2-0 (1-0) against the Philippines in front of 13,711 eyewitnesses in Dunedin. Paris SG striker Ramona Bachmann set the course for success with a converted penalty (45th). “That’s super important for us, we approach the next tasks with self-confidence”stressed the 32-year-old.
The German selection only intervened in the World Cup on Monday (against Morocco), defender Sophia Kleinherne had already shot (verbally) sharply beforehand. “I don’t know of any female Neymar”said the 23-year-old in the “playboy”: “For example, I don’t know any player who stays down for two or three minutes.” In Brazil, where Neymar is revered, it didn’t go over well.
Source: Nachrichten
