The biggest Women’s World Cup to date is well underway in Canada as the first round of group games have all been played.
As the land of the Maple leaf pauses for breath, it is time to look back at the results and what effect they have had on each group.
Group A
Results – Canada 1-0 China, New Zealand 0-1 Netherlands
Expected wins for Canada and the Netherlands but it certainly was not all one way traffic.
A late controversial penalty for the hosts against a plucky Chinese side who arguably did enough for at least a point. Local girl Christie Sinclair shrugged off the pressure to score from the spot to seal a less than convincing win. For the Dutch, a great strike from Lieke Martens was good enough to beat New Zealand.
Next fixtures – Canada v New Zealand, China v Netherlands
Group B
Results – Norway 4-0 Thailand, Germany 10-0 Cote D’Ivoire
Nothing much to see here as it was business as usual for the Europeans in this group.
A solid performance saw Norway beat Thailand convincingly but not quite as well as Germany. The well oiled machine trounced Cote D’Ivoire in an exceptional showing that stamped their mark on this World Cup.
Next fixtures – Germany v Norway, Cote D’Ivoire v Thailand
Group C
Results – Cameroon 6-0 Ecuador, Japan 1-0 Switzerland
A strong Cameroon side started their tournament in fine style with six goals without reply against a disapointing Ecuadorian outfit. The Africans took pole position in a group that was difficult to see who would partner Japan into the next round. The reigning champions won a close technical game against Switzerland who are also likely to challenge for a place in the next round.
Next fixtures – Switzerland v Ecuador, Japan v Cameroon
Group D
Results – Sweden 3-3 Nigeria, USA 3-1 Australia
The four teams selected to play out the group of death are proving that it is just that. The Swedes went into a two goal lead against Nigeria but were pegged back. The Africans were impressive in their fightback and deserved at least the point against the highly rated Scandinavians.
The joint favourites for the trophy USA managed to overcome a tough Australian team to take top spot in the group courtesy of two goals from Megan Rapinho and Christen Press.
Next fixtures – Australia v Nigeria, USA v Sweden
Group E
Results – Spain 1-1 Costa Rica, Brazil 2-0 Korea Republic
This promises to be another tight group with surprise package Costa Rica taking on the Spanish and ending up with a point. A talented Brazil side featuring Marta expectantly beat Korea with the former player of the year scoring one of the goals from the spot. Marta became the all time leading goal scorer in the Women’s World Cup with this goal.
Next fixtures – Brazil v Spain, Korea Republic v Costa Rica
Group F
Results – France 1-0 England, Colombia 1-1 Mexico
The battle between European footballing giants France and England ended in a narrow one goal victory for the French. It was a hard fought victory and certainly no disgrace for England to lose to their close rivals but were defeated by a great strike from Eugenie Le Sommer.
Meanwhile, Colombia and Mexico played out a draw in a game which both would have wanted to win if they harbored any hopes of making it through to the next round.
Next fixtures – France v Colombia, England v Mexico
The second round of group games has a few very interesting match ups, none more so than Germany v Norway in Group B and USA v Sweden in Group D. The results from these two games will go a long way to deciding the winners from the respective groups
You can enjoy all the action on either the BBC or Eurosport in the UK.
