Women's World Cup Results 2015: Group Scores and Twitter Reaction from Thursday
After everybody took a day to decompress, action resumed at the 2015 Women's World Cup with Groups A and B kicking off the second cycle of group-stage matches.
Between the four fixtures on the schedule for Thursday, Germany vs. Norway and Canada vs. New Zealand were arguably the two most highly anticipated. Germany are coming off their 10-0 thrashing of the Ivory Coast, while hosts Canada looked less than convincing in their 1-0 win over China.
Below are brief recaps for each of the four matches as they conclude throughout the night with reaction from social media for each.
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Thursday Results
| B | Germany | 1-1 | Norway |
| A | China | 1-0 | Netherlands |
| B | Ivory Coast | 2-3 | Thailand |
| A | Canada | 0-0 | New Zealand |
Thursday Recap and Reaction
Stunning Free-Kick Saves Point for Norway
Maren Mjelde canceled out Anja Mittag's sixth-minute goal to earn a point for Norway in a 1-1 draw.
Things weren't looking good for the Norwegians early on as Mittag pounced on a rebound off a shot from team-mate Dzsenifer Marozsan. Norway goalkeeper Ingrid Hjelmseth did a rather poor job on the save as she failed to parry the ball away from danger. Mittag reacted well and had an easy finish.
According to Opta, the two quickest goals of the 2015 Women's World Cup belong to Germany:
NBC Sports' Jeff Kassouf wondered if the TD Place Stadium turf—a somewhat polarizing topic entering the tournament—might have had an effect on the shot:
For the remainder of the first half, Germany spent a lot of time in the Norwegian half but failed to translate their dominance into a second goal. In the 61st minute, that profligacy came back to haunt them as Mjelde delivered an equaliser for Norway.
With the ball placed just outside the 18-yard box, Mjelde somehow curled the ball over the German wall and under the bar with one of the more beautiful free-kicks you'll see all tournament. Fox Soccer provided a replay of the goal:
United States international Sydney Leroux Dwyer praised Mjelde's effort:
Sports Illustrated's Grant Wahl wasn't the only one perplexed by the physics of the shot:
ESPN's Paul Carr noted that Norway are already building a reputation as set-piece specialists in the World Cup:
Mjelde's free-kick was one of only three shots on target for Norway compared to eight for Germany. The Germans also had 27 total shots, 23 more than their opponents. Of course, the score is the only stat that matters.
Heading into Thursday, German coach Sylvia Neid talked about how her players wouldn't look past Norway and would start working the permutations it would take to advance to the knockout stage.
"We think from game to game," she said, per espnW's Ben Gladwell. "Then we have Thailand [Monday in Winnipeg] and then we see where we are. We are not thinking so far—of where we might go. We are only going to firm up those thoughts when we already know the results. This is the next step for us, and then we concentrate on the next game."
Maybe the Germans were a little guilty of underestimated their opponents. However, it shouldn't severely impact Germany's chances of advancing. Both they and Norway have one foot into the round of 16 after their first two matches.
China Scores Late Goal to Defeat Dutch
In their first game against Canada, China defended well for 90 minutes and stifled the Canadian attack at every opportunity. Then, a somewhat questionable penalty decision set Christine Sinclair up to score the game-winning goal in injury time.
On Thursday, China were on the other side of situation as Wang Lisi scored in the 91st minute to give her team their first win of the Women's World Cup in a 1-0 victory over the Netherlands.
Tan Ruyin did most of the heavy lifting, providing a perfect lobbed pass over the top of the Dutch defense. Wang simply needed to get a touch on the ball to put it in the back of the net:
Wahl wondered why Netherlands goalkeeper Sari van Veenendaal was so indecisive as she got stuck between two minds:
Steven Goff of the Washington Post noted that the Netherlands' women's national team looked an awful lot like the men's national team with the way it finished off the match:
Although China needed the full amount of time allotted to find a winning goal, they were deserved victors. They controlled the pace of the match from the opening whistle, and their defense again put on a masterclass, limiting the Netherlands to three shots on target.
The Chinese should also have been up 1-0 by the time Wang scored anyway as Ma Jun missed a golden chance to put her team on top.
TSN Radio's Gareth Wheeler thinks that Group A is a lot more interesting after China's win:
Three countries are all tied with three points. Canada have the edge in goal differential and can move into sole possession of first with a win or draw against New Zealand.
Cote d'Ivoire Comeback Falls Short
Josee Nahi scored in the 88th minute, and Christine Lohoues hit the crossbar a few minutes from the final whistle. Ultimately, Cote d'Ivoire's frenzied comeback wasn't enough to salvage a point against Thailand. The War Elephants held on to a 3-2 win.
Ange N'Guessan got Cote d'Ivoire off to a dream start in the fourth minute as she cleaned up the mess on a corner kick. Thailand couldn't clear the ball, and N'Guessan eventually pounced. It was the first goal ever for the country at the Women's World Cup:
Cote d'Ivoire's positive feelings were erased in the 26th minute as Orathai Srimanee scored the equalizer. The Ivorian defense did a poor job of marking Srimanee, who had tons of space and time to place her finish.
It was also Thailand's first goal in Women's World Cup history:
In the third minute of first-half stoppage time, Srimanee put Thailand ahead. There was some initial doubt as to whether her header actually crossed the goal line, but the replays showed that it was in fact a clear goal:
Cote d'Ivoire remained within a goal until the 75th minute, when Thailand capitalized on an error by Ivorian goalkeeper Dominique Thiamale. Thiamale got caught well out of position, and Thanatta Chawong eventually headed the ball into an empty net. Anootsara Maijarern looked to be in an offside position when she crossed the ball into the box, but it didn't matter:
Thailand couldn't afford to rest on their laurels, especially after Nahi made it only a one-goal game two minutes from stoppage time.
In the end, Thailand held onto the win and moved into third place in Group B. They could still catch Germany or Norway, but they'll likely hope that their points total is enough to get them through to the knockout stages as one of the best third-place teams.
Meanwhile, Cote d'Ivoire's World Cup misery continues. First, they lose 10-0 to Germany and then they watch as one, possibly two offside goals prove to be the difference in a 3-2 defeat.
Canada Labor in 0-0 Draw with New Zealand
For the second match in a row, Canada looked little like a team that could seriously contend for the 2015 Women's World Cup title. The hosts had 59 percent possession and six shots on target but couldn't find the back of the net in a 0-0 draw.
Kassouf was far from impressed with what he saw from the Canadians, questioning whether they could even make the quarterfinals:
James Sharman of Sportsnet is also getting a bit concern with how Canada have performed through their first two games of the tournament:
You could easily argue New Zealand were the unluckier side Thursday as well. Amber Hearn missed a penalty in the 33rd minute that could've radically altered the match.
As bad as things look for Canada right now, though, they've still got one foot in the round of 16 after having taken four points from their first two matches. Maybe John Herdman can rectify his team's glaring issues before the knockout stage gets underway.
Should Canada put in a third straight poor performance, though, the natives might start getting restless. That nervousness could then rub off on the players, and in the event that happens, Canada will be looking at an early exit.
Follow @JosephZucker on Twitter.
