By: Joanna Chen
Three powerhouse teams aimed for strong starts in their first matches of the Women’s World Cup tournament. Sweden and the Netherlands, two of Europe’s top teams, succeeded in their opening goals by securing wins over their opponents. However, France – ranked fourth in the world – stumbled in their first match, only managing a disappointing draw against underdog Jamaica.
Herve Renard, a successful French soccer manager, had experience masterminding World Cup shocks, but almost suffered one himself on Sunday. His French team entered the Women’s World Cup eyeing the semifinals. But on the first day, they struggled against Jamaica, ranked 40 spots lower.
Jamaica’s star Khadija Shaw threatened France with her powerful runs but was later handed a red card, which forced her to be ejected from the game, leaving their team with one less player. Coach Lorna Donaldson said losing Shaw “is a big loss” and her team must step up.
Without their star player, Shaw, Jamaica’s team was put under more pressure as they tried to defend France’s final attack to score. Jamaica successfully tied the game with France and they celebrated it as if they had won the cup.
After the match, Renard remained positive saying “there’s still a long way to go.” But his team will need to improve to live up to expectations.
Other than France’s shocking draw against Jamaica, there was another unexpected turn on events this week. The Women’s World Cup has brought both elation and agony for players thanks to the long delays caused by VAR (Video Assistant Referee). Players have had to experience an emotional rollercoaster, celebrating a goal only to have it ruled out, then celebrating again minutes later when VAR intervenes.
For Stefanie van der Gragt and her team, VAR’s intervention meant double the joy. Van der Gragt smashed home what she thought was the winner against Portugal, sprinting to the corner flag in gleeful celebration. But the offside flag went up, dashing her joy. Van der Gragt must have felt her heart sink as she watched the replay. Then, after an agonizing three-minute wait, VAR overturned the decision and her goal stood. Van der Gragt got to celebrate all over again as her jubilant Dutch teammates mobbed her.
The U.S. star Sophia Smith knows that feeling well. A day earlier, her goal against Vietnam was disallowed before VAR remarkably came to her rescue. “It’s so hard to wait,” van der Gragt said. But as she pointed out, the result is all that matters.
For van der Gragt, the bittersweet feeling of two celebrations – joy then agony then joy again – may stick in the memory more than a simple goal. The contrast of emotions makes the final joy that much sweeter. The wait, it seems, really was worth it.
While van der Gragt’s experience of first losing, then finally winning through an agonizing wait contained an emotional rollercoaster, Magaia and South Africa’s journey followed a similar arc on a bigger stage.
On Sunday, South Africa came agonizingly close to a monumental upset of Sweden. Striker Hildah Magaia sent the South African coaches leaping in delight with a stunning goal in the 47th minute, putting the underdogs ahead of the No.3 ranked Swedes.
But the euphoria didn’t last. Sweden battled back, equalizing in the 65th minute through Fridolina Rolfo before defender Amanda Ilestedt headed in the winning goal just when the timer ended.
In the end, however, Sweden’s experience and never-say-die attitude shone through. Their late fightback ensured the underdogs’ dreams were shattered. On the other hand, South Africa may have gained the belief and confidence that they are capable of competing with some of the top teams. The future looks bright, even if joy turned to heartbreak in the final minutes on Sunday.