We may have only seen the first week of action in the 2023 World Cup but we’ve already had plenty of action to enjoy and the tournament is still wide open. Let’s take a look at the latest results for the matches that took place on Sunday, July 23rd including Sweden, the Netherlands and Jamaica.
Sweden 2-1 South Africa
Embed from Getty ImagesWith 51 places in the FIFA world rankings separating Sweden and South Africa, many would have expected Peter Gerhardsson’s side to dominate the tie. It was South Africa however who would break the deadlock. Hildah Magaia’s 48th minute goal gave her country the lead in their opening match.
Fridolina Rolfo’s 65th minute leveller saw the tie restored, following a defensive mix up from South Africa. Amanda Ilestedt’s 90th minute winner claimed all three points for Sweden ahead of their game with Italy. Despite failing to take anything from the match, Banyana Banyana will take plenty of positives from such a strong performance against a world class team.
Netherlands 1-0 Portugal
Embed from Getty ImagesMaking their World Cup debut against the Netherlands was never going to prove an easy task for Portugal. Just 14 minutes into the tie, Andries Jonker’s side were ahead. Stefanie van der Gragt’s goal was initially disallowed, however the decision was reversed following a VAR check with the referee being asked to consult the pitch-side monitor.
Neither side will be particularly pleased with their performance. Portugal created very little throughout the tie, with Francisco Neto’s side failing to get into the opposition half until the final 10 minutes of the game. Despite taking all three points, the Netherlands produced a display that fell far short of their usual quality. A conservative performance combined with a lack of intensity in attack will be something for the team to remedy ahead of their meeting with the USA.
France 0-0 Jamaica
Embed from Getty ImagesIn the final of the day’s three World Cup matches, Jamaica faced France — 38 places separate the two sides in the FIFA world rankings. This, combined with Jamaica’s relative inexperience at the World Cup, led many to assume a win for the French would be inevitable.
A determined and spirited performance from the Reggae Girlz however, prevented France gaining a real foothold in the game. With the game becoming increasingly physical, a second yellow card for Jamaica captain Bunny Shaw saw her side reduced to 10 players with five minutes left to play.
Despite being a player down, Jamaica maintained the deadlock to claim their first ever point at a World Cup. France will look to improve the quality of their finishing ahead of their meeting with Brazil.
