But don’t try telling the locals that.
Yesterday evening Group B kicked off in Chengdu, where North Korea (DPRK) and Nigeria managed a couple of mini-shocks by holding veteran front-runners of the women’s game, the USA and Sweden, to draws.
Germany having announced themselves so forcefully as tournament favourites in the opening game, the USA will be disappointed not to have got more against a spirited DPRK side. In fact, the match could have been even more explosively surprising when DPRK registered the first shot on goal within seconds of the kick off.
Both sides gave a good account of the women’s game, playing exciting, attacking football with little of the cageyness and niggling fouls of last night’s Group A match.
Abby Wambach put the USA ahead on 50 minutes but by the time she had returned to the pitch after treatment for a head wound, DPRK had turned the tables with two goals in less than five minutes. Neither Korean goal could qualify as one of the “beautiful goals” promised by the slogan. USA keeper, Hope Solo, will be disappointed to have let the first through her grasp, while the second followed a goalmouth scramble. But they all count, and for a short time the Koreans could dare to dream of a famous victory to add to their Under-20 trophy from last year.
If they were dreaming, they were woken up within minutes as the USA restored parity from Heather O’Reilly’s half-volley after DPRK had failed to clear their lines.
In the Group’s other game, Sweden always looked comfortable, if not exactly commanding, against Nigeria, but, like England, were undone by a late goal.
An uneventful first half was followed by Sweden predictably taking the lead. Having hit the woodwork in the first half, Victoria Svensson made no mistake on 50 minutes and the Swedes looked set to claim three points.
To their credit, Nigeria never gave up and despite their seeming superiority Sweden proved incapable of, let’s make the comparison again, German ruthlessness. Ironically, it was Cynthia Uwak, who plays her football for Sweden’s Falkopings, who struck the equaliser with just eight minutes to go.
So do we have a new “Super Eagles”? Not quite, but Nigeria’s resilience and the DPRK’s energy have blown Group B wide open. Friday’s game between Sweden and the USA becomes even more mouth-watering as both teams will be looking to make up for two points dropped, while a winner in DPRK vs Nigeria may be able to start thinking of a possible quaterfinals place.
Posted by l 