Day two of the FIFA Women’s World Cup saw Canada take on Nigeria, the Philippines take on Switzerland, and Costa Rica versus Spain.
Slept through it and need to know what the big story is? This is what happened on the second day of the World Cup.
This story will be updated as games finish.
Your bite-sized recap of Day 2 of the 2023 Women’s World Cup
Nigeria 0, Canada 0
The Big Story: A dramatic, physical match featuring a saved penalty, a red card, and sustained box-to-box action kept all 21,410 fans in Melbourne’s Rectangular Stadium on the edge of their seats until the last minute, even if it ultimately ended in a 0-0 draw.
The Big Moment: After drawing a penalty early in the second half, Canada’s Christine Sinclair was denied by Nigerian keeper Chiamaka Nnadozie who made a huge save.
IT'S SAVED FROM CHIAMAKA NNADOZIE 
pic.twitter.com/JfZRcv8nCw
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) July 21, 2023
pic.twitter.com/JfZRcv8nCw— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) July 21, 2023
What it means: In many ways, the missed penalty by Christine Sinclair represented the entire match in a microcosm. Sinclair’s shot wasn’t particularly well-taken, but Nnadozie’s save was spectacular. Similarly, none of the chances Cananda strung together were particularly threatening even as they dominated possession and held control of much of the match. Nigeria also stymied them with gutsy last-ditch defending at every turn.
For Nigeria, this is a very positive result. They earned a point off a top-ranked team despite going down to 10 players after Deborah Ajibola Abiodun was shown a red card for a dangerous challenge in second half stoppage time. They also created a solid number of chances themselves and even outshot Canada six to five in the first half. It’s worth remembering that the Super Falcons had considered boycotting this match in protest over a lack of payments from their federation. The fact they were able to get a positive result in spite of the turmoil surrounding them will likely make this point even sweeter.
Canada, on the other hand, will likely leave this game a bit worried. Frustration was clear on the faces of players as they failed to connect consistently throughout much of the game. Even when they did take better control in the second half, they couldn’t match Nigeria’s relentless energy and drive enough to break through and find the back of the net. It doesn’t help that star midfielder Jessie Fleming sat out of the match with an undisclosed injury. Head coach Bev Priestman says it’s not a tournament-threatening injury which is good news for the Canadians who will need to find a spark to help jumpstart their World Cup performance as they prepare to take on the Republic of Ireland on Wednesday.
-Bekki Morgan
Philippines, Switzerland TBD
Costa Rica, Spain TBD
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