By Samindra Kunti in Hamilton
July 25 – The Philippines shocked co-hosts New Zealand with a 1-0 victory to blow Group A wide open. In the other group fixture, Norway and Switzerland held each other, 0-0.
New Zealand held the pole position in Group A following their dramatic but deserved opening-match win against Norway, but the Football Ferns were handed a stern reality check by debutants the Philippines, who achieved their first-ever World Cup finals win thanks to Sarina Bolden’s only goal of the game. It was unbridled joy for the Asian team at the end of the 90 minutes but a disheartening result for the co-hosts after the highs of the opening night.
They crashed back to earth and New Zealand coach Jitka Klimkova blamed poor execution for the defeat. The Kiwis will have to regroup ahead of their final group game against Switzerland in Dunedin.
In Hamilton, there was no less drama. Seconds before kickoff, Norwegian star player Ada Hegerberg walked off to the consternation of those in the stands. She was replaced by Sophie Haug because of a groin injury. The Norwegian coach had also left Caroline Graham Hansen of FC Barcelona on the bench.
The Nordic team started on the back foot but had the first major chance with a 23rd-minute header from Haug. Switzerland responded with a dangerous attempt by Ana-Maria Crnogorcevic but there was no breakthrough before half-time.
It was the perfect scenario for Hansen to claim an impact role from the bench and she won her 100th cap replacing Amalie Eikeland. Midway through the second half, the Barcelona player slalomed her way past the Swiss defense, but could not find the net.
The Norwegians held the upper hand, but the tempo was too low in a match replete with misplaced passes. Swiss goalkeeper Gaelle Thalmann was the player of the match with a number of saves, but ultimately the teams lacked creativity and precision in execution to force a winner. It was the third goalless draw of the tournament following Canada vs Nigeria and France vs Jamaica.
Ahead of the final round of group matches, Switzerland top the group with four points, the co-hosts and debutants have three points and Norway sit bottom with a single point from two matches. The Norwegians retain a slim chance of progressing playing the Philippines in their last Group A match.
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