Women’s World Cup round-up: Coach Klimkova proud of New Zealand despite exit

Switzerland 0 New Zealand 0

New Zealand can be proud of their Women’s World Cup campaign on home soil despite their group-stage exit, coach Jitka Klimkova said after a goalless draw with Switzerland on Sunday ended their hopes of reaching the knock-out rounds.

New Zealand had never won a World Cup game in their previous five appearances. They began with a memorable 1-0 upset of Norway in Group A but a shock 1-0 defeat to the Philippines tempered expectations.

The Football Ferns again missed out on a place in the last 16, however, after finishing third in Group A with four points, their best ever showing at a World Cup.

“I’m very proud of our team and what we’ve done during this World Cup,” Klimkova said. “When I saw the fans around, the sold-out stadiums and the connection that we had with New Zealand, that’s what we were aiming for, that’s what we wanted.

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“We were very close to achieving a historic result. We got four points and two clean sheets. That’s an amazing result from this team. I’m sure we inspired a lot of young girls and boys to start loving and playing football.

“I would say it’s been a successful tournament, even if we didn’t get out of the group We wanted to make our nation proud and we’ve done it. I’m so glad our crowd and our nation responded the way they did. It means a lot to the players.”

Germany 1 Colombia 2

Manuela Vanegas headed a stoppage-time winner to give Colombia a 2-1 upset victory over Germany just when the twice world champions thought they had saved a point in a thrilling Group H clash at Sydney Football Stadium.

The defender powered the ball home from a corner eight minutes after German striker Alexandra Popp had converted a penalty to cancel out a stunning strike from Colombian teenager Linda Caicedo.

Caicedo, who gave her team a fright by collapsing in training on Thursday, had delighted the massed ranks of her compatriots in the 40,499 crowd with a goal of the highest quality in the 52nd minute.

The Colombians tore into the match from the kick-off and the Germans looked rattled not only by their aggression but also by the deafening noise of their yellow-shirted fans.

Colombia striker Mayra Ramirez headed a chance down and wide in the ninth minute and the South Americans continued to niggle the Germans with a dig to the ribs here and a flailing arm in the tackle there.

The corner was Germany’s major weapon in their opening 6-0 thrashing of Morocco but Colombia goalkeeper Catalina Perez came out confidently to gather the first ball swung in from the corner flag.

Germany forward Lina Magull had a good chance in the 21st minute but her swing at the ball made contact with nothing but air and Lena Oberdorf’s subsequent effort was blocked.

Popp, who scored two goals against the Moroccans, should have added to her tournament tally in the 42nd minute but blazed her volley high and wide from close range.

Colombia continued to launch the ball forward to their front players at every opportunity but it was not until seven minutes after the break that they were able to break the stalemate.

Showing no sign of the nerves that her coach said were behind her collapse on Thursday, the 18-year-old Caicedo gathered the ball on the left edge of the box, cut back between two defenders and curled it into the top right-hand corner.

The stadium exploded with noise as the diminutive teenager celebrated her second goal at the tournament, having become the youngest player to score in this World Cup with a similar effort in the 2-0 opening win over South Korea.

Germany continued to spurn what chances they created but, with two minutes left on the clock, Oberdorf was brought down in the box by Perez and Popp stepped up to thump the ball confidently into the net.

The 27th-ranked Colombians now need only a draw against Morocco in their final Group H match to be certain of reaching the last 16, while Germany are still likely to progress if they beat South Korea in their last fixture.

South Korea 0 Morocco 1

Debutantes Morocco claimed their first ever victory at the Women’s World Cup with a 1-0 win over South Korea in their second Group H encounter, all but confirming the Asian side’s exit.

Morocco are 55 rungs below South Korea in the women’s rankings, but the African side made an early breakthrough with their first ever World Cup goal from striker Ibtissam Jraidi.

In the sixth minute, Hanane Ait El Haj whipped in a cross from the right and Jraidi dived forward to make contact with a deft glancing header that went in at the far post.

“We are just so pleased our efforts have paid off. This victory is for Morocco and Arabs, it’s the fruit of our hard work,” Jraidi told reporters.

Park Eun-sun nearly levelled with a diving header of her own at the other end but the forward saw her effort go agonisingly wide of the post, much to the relief of Khadija Er-Rmichi in Morocco’s goal.

Er-Rmichi saw Germany find the net six times in their group opener, but she was hardly tested by the South Koreans, who failed to have a shot on target and struggled to make inroads into the final third as the Moroccan defence stood firm.

“There’s a sense of pride for us to pull this first World Cup win out of the bag,” coach Reynald Pedros said, dedicating the victory to the king of Morocco.

“We didn’t change our philosophy” after losing 6-0 to Germany, Pedros said. “The Korean team is not like the German team and we got off to a blinding start. We were efficient in the box, that was missing against Germany.”

Morocco defender Nouhaila Benzina, who became the first player to wear a headscarf at the Women’s World Cup, made crucial interventions, while she almost scored from a set-piece when she volleyed a snapshot over the bar.

She even took one for the team when she deliberately clipped Ji So-yun, who was racing through on goal on a counterattack with support, accepting a yellow card without protest.

But South Korea could not capitalise from the free kick, which hit the wall as coach Collin Bell stood on the touchline shaking his head in frustration.

South Korea’s Casey Phair nearly equalised late in the game, but the 16-year-old, who became the youngest player to take the field in Women’s World Cup history in their opener, fired wide to leave them bottom of the group.

“I can’t believe it, to be honest. We saved the worst two performances in my tenure for the World Cup. I didn’t recognise my own team,” said Bell, who took over in 2019 and guided the team to the final of the Asian Cup last year.

“The reality is we were not good enough in both games. Why that was, we have to analyse in detail. I’m not going to let my emotions take over now, and obviously we’re all very disappointed.

“The players are much better than they’ve shown in both matches and it really is almost unbelievable that we’ve performed like we have.”

Norway 6 Philippines 0

Norway coach Hege Riise said it was a relief to see her team move on from a divisive week as they beat the Philippines 6-0 at Eden Park on Sunday and squeaked into the knock-out stages on goal difference.

The former champions had everything on the line for Sunday’s final group-stage affair after they lost to New Zealand and were held to a scoreless draw against Switzerland.

As though that pressure was not enough, they had the added task of restoring harmony on a fractured team after winger Caroline Graham Hansen lashed out over the decision to start her on the bench against Switzerland.

“We’ve been through this week together. We talk as a team and individuals and today, the last couple of days, you can see the energy coming back within the team and they believed this game might be the last game,” Riise told reporters.

Striker Sophie Roman Haug scored a hat-trick against the Philippines and Graham Hansen’s first-half goal helped to justify her place in the starting team, while Guro Reiten also scored.

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