Women’s World Cup: Morocco, Zambia secure first wins; Australia sends Canada packing

It was a historic World Cup weekend for several countries, with Morocco and Zambia recording their first-ever victories at the tournament.

New Zealand made history for a different reason, becoming the first Women’s World Cup host team to exit the tournament in the group stage after its 0-0 draw with Switzerland.

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Five more countries punched their tickets to the knockout rounds. Australia, Switzerland, Nigeria, Norway, and Sweden will join Spain and Japan in the next stage, while Canada, New Zealand, the Philippines, and Panama saw their tournaments come to an end over the weekend.

Morocco stunned South Korea with its first-ever World Cup goal in the sixth minute of its match on Sunday off a header from Ibtissam Jraïdi and were able to hang onto its lead. At the same time, Moroccan defender Nouhaila Benzina became the first player to wear a hijab during a World Cup game at the senior level.

South Korea sits at 17th in FIFA women’s rankings, while Morocco is 72nd.

In another upset, Zambia, the lowest-ranked team at the World Cup (77), shocked Costa Rica and the rest of the world with a 3-1 victory on Monday. Zambia suffered 5-0 losses in each of its past two games against Japan and Spain, but picked up its first-ever points to finish third in Group C.

Zambia’s 23-year old captain, Barbra Banda, scored her first-ever World Cup goal off a penalty kick in the 31st minute. The goal was special for another reason, too — it marked the 1,000th goal in Women’s World Cup history.

Meanwhile, Japan secured first place in Group C and prime seeding for the knockout rounds with a 4-0 defeat of Spain. Hinata Miyazawa scored twice, while Japan recorded its third clean sheet of the tournament.

Nigeria reached the round of 16 for the third time in the nation’s history following its 0-0 draw with Ireland.

Australia finished at the top of Group B with a 4-0 rout of Canada, marking the first time the Matildas have won their group. Even without star striker Sam Kerr, sidelined with a calf injury, Australia was able to catch Canada on its heels and cruise to its biggest-ever win at a Women’s World Cup.

Canada, the reigning Olympic champions, has the highest FIFA ranking (7) of teams eliminated so far this tournament.

Saturday

Sweden 5, Italy 0

France 2, Brazil 1

Jamaica 1, Panama 0

Sunday

Morocco 1, South Korea 0

Norway 6, Philippines 0

Switzerland 0, New Zealand 0

Colombia 2, Germany 1

Monday

Zambia 3, Costa Rica 1

Japan 4, Spain 0

Australia 4, Canada 0

Nigeria 0, Ireland 0

The first two World Cup goals for Australian forward Hayley Raso couldn’t come at a better time than the Matilda’s do-or-die matchup against Canada on Monday. Raso’s first goal came in the ninth minute to open the scoring. Though it was initially called offside, the call was overturned after review and proved to be the offensive spark Australia needed.

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Raso doubled Australia’s lead in the 39th minute, tapping in a corner kick to send the Canadians into half time in a daze.

Mary Fowler and Steph Catley also contributed scoring for Australia to seal the deal.

Colombia’s 18-year-old striker, Linda Caicedo, put up a contender for best goal of the tournament after she tore apart Germany’s defense and buried the ball in the top corner of the net.

“I was confident, but at the same time I was nervous, but I just had to have courage because I was carrying thousands of people back home so it was an honor for me,” Banda said after scoring the 1,000th Women’s World Cup goal in history.