Women’s World Cup: Canada stumbles, Spain dominates, Philippines debuts on Day 2

Featuring Olympic champions Canada, title contender Spain, and the Philippines’ tournament debut, Day 2 of the Women’s World Cup proved a worthy follow-up to the tournament’s memorable opening night.

The Canadians opened as one of the favorites in Group B but missed out on an early opportunity for three points, playing to a scoreless draw against Nigeria at Melbourne Rectangular Stadium. Canada’s best chance came in the 49th minute, when 40-year-old captain and international soccer legend Christine Sinclair stepped to the penalty spot with an opportunity to become the first player to score in six World Cups. But she was denied by Nigerian goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie.

The draw left co-host Australia atop arguably the toughest of the eight groups in this year’s tournament.

The next match marked the first time the Philippines have appeared in a World Cup on either the men’s or women’s side. The Filipinas fell 2-0 to Switzerland at Dunedin Stadium, as an early strike from Katrina Guillou briefly sent the crowd into a frenzy but was ruled offside. The Swiss goals came from Ramona Bachmann’s first-half penalty and a second-half score from Seraina Piubel.

Capping off Day 2, Spain outshot Costa Rica 46-1 and came away with a commanding 3-0 victory at Wellington Regional Stadium, a game that might have been more lopsided if not for the play of Las Ticas goalie Daniela Solera.

Spain, which entered the World Cup as one of the betting favorites behind the United States, saw two-time world player of the year Alexia Putellas enter as a substitute in the 77th minute as she returns to form after an ACL injury. La Roja scored on an own goal and first-half strikes from Aitana Bonmatí and Esther González.

Canada 0, Nigeria 0

Switzerland 2, Philippines 0

Spain 3, Costa Rica 0

Day 2 featured at least three teams in Canada, Nigeria, and Spain that were in disputes with their national federations in the lead-up to the World Cup over issues including pay, resources, poor governance, and working conditions. The acrimony resulted in off-field distractions for each squad and impacted the availability and preparation of several key players. As fans in the United States are all too familiar, women’s soccer players often aren’t afforded the luxury of focusing on solely what is happening on the field. Day 2 of the World Cup was a showcase of just that.

» READ MORE: The SheBelieves Cup marks a milestone in U.S. Soccer’s new equal-pay deals with its players

Nnadozie, the 22-year-old Nigerian keeper, preserved the scoreless tie for the Super Falcons by stopping a penalty try from Sinclair, the all-time leading scorer in international soccer.

“It has been a difficult year, but we have left everything behind,” Bonmatí said according to Reuters, referencing the Spanish team’s dispute with the Royal Spanish Football Federation. “We are focused on the World Cup and nothing else now. But it’s true that after everything that has happened this year, you’re just happy to be starting and playing at a World Cup because until the last moment I didn’t know if I was going to play [the tournament].”

» READ MORE: Can a new-look USWNT team actually win the World Cup? We’re about to find out.

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