Japan hammers Zambia
England ekes out win over Haiti
HAMILTON, New Zealand — Hinata Miyazawa scored a pair of goals, while Mina Tanaka and Jun Endo each added a goal and an assist, as Japan shut out Zambia 5-0 to open Women’s World Cup play Saturday for both sides.
Miyazawa found the back of the net with one-time finishes on either side of halftime to secure an easy win over the Copper Queens in what was their World Cup debut.
Tanaka, denied goals twice on offside calls, scored in similar fashion in the 55th minute, assisted by Endo.
Endo then scored in the 71st minute, finding herself alone on the left side of goalkeeper Catherine Musonda’s goal and slotting home a left-footed strike.
Not only did Tanaka see two goals called back by VAR for offside, the Nadeshiko were awarded an early second-half penalty only to see it rescinded for yet another offside call.
The Group C clash was the first time a senior World Cup match was hosted at Hamilton’s Waikato Stadium. Saturday’s attendance of 16,111 nearly filled the stadium that holds just over 18,000.
Zambia struggled to find its footing in its World Cup debut. Star striker Barbra Banda found herself isolated at the top of the pitch and marked by three Japanese defenders for much of the night.
Deep into second-half injury time, the Copper Queens’ fortunes went from bad to worse as goalkeeper Catherine Musonda, who started the match in place of an injured Hazel Nali, was sent off with a second yellow card for a foul in the box.
Initially, Riko Ueki’s penalty hit the underside of the crossbar, but VAR ruled the penalty be retaken for goalkeeper encroachment. Ueki sent her second chance into the lower right corner of the net.
ENGLAND 1, HAITI 0: In Brisbane, Australia, the champions of Europe had to struggle for a win over a Haiti lineup feeding off Melchie Dumornay’s forays through the England defense and Kerly Theus’ series of athletic saves in its Women’s World Cup debut on Saturday.
The difference between the world’s No. 4-ranked team and the unheralded, under-resourced, 53rd-ranked team from strife-torn Haiti came down to a handball.
A retaken penalty from Georgia Stanway in the 29th minute was enough for England to earn three points, the primary objective in the Group D opener for England manager Sarina Wiegman. But it did expose some deficiencies in her injury-depleted team.
“Haiti were unpredictable, they’re very transitional. That’s what they showed,” Wiegman said. “We were struggling with that.
“The win is the most important thing but now we need the final thing in finishing our chances.”
DENMARK 1, CHINA O: In Perth, Australia, Substitute Amalie Vangsgaard scored in the 90th minute for Denmark.
With time running out in a game of few chances, she rose to head home Pernille Harder’s late corner.
Vangsgaard had only come on in the 85th minute and made a quick impact with her first goal for the country. It was also the first headed goal of the tournament and sparked joyous celebrations from Denmark’s players.
The win saw the Danes go level with European champions England atop Group D.
Notes
PAY DISCREPANCY: When Germany won the Women’s World Cup in 2003, the team took home a trophy and nothing else. That’s because FIFA did not offer prize money during the first four tournaments, so Germany, like every other team, played for glory and little else.
But at this summer’s tournament, the ninth Women’s World Cup, the winning team will get $10.5 million from a total purse of $152 million. Progress, right?
Well, yes ... and no. Because while that record payout is more than the field shared 20 years ago, it’s $4.5 million less than what FIFA, global soccer’s governing body, paid out in the men’s World Cup 21 years ago. Meanwhile, the men’s purse has grown to $440 million.
So what the women want now isn’t progress, it’s parity.
“Equality is actually good for business,” said U.S. star Megan Rapinoe, an outspoken advocate in the team’s bruising, six-year fight for equal pay, a battle whose successful outcome inspired rival national teams. “It’s the biggest women’s sporting event in the world. This is a real opportunity. It feels like this is a paradigm shift or a moment we’ll look back to and say ‘Nothing was ever the same after this Women’s World Cup.’ ”
EVACUATION: New Zealand’s Women’s World Cup squad had to be evacuated from a downtown hotel on Saturday night after several small fires broke out.
New Zealand police have charged a 34-year-old man with burglary and arson and said he is due to appear in Auckland District Court on Monday.
It was the second security incident within three days at the World Cup, following a fatal shooting near team hotels on the first morning of the tournament.