Just Women’s Sports is here with your daily World Cup Digest, breaking down all of the biggest storylines from each day of action in Australia and New Zealand.
Canada captain Christine Sinclair nearly became the first person to score at six World Cup tournaments when she took a penalty kick Thursday. But she missed the spot, as Nigeria’s Chiamaka Nnadozie made the save to help Nigeria secure the 0-0 draw.
“Christine Sinclair scored many, many, many goals for this country and I’m sure the fans, the team and everyone can forgive missing a penalty kick,” Canada coach Bev Priestman said. “I think penalty kicks are a 50-50 chance and on this day Sinc didn’t score.
“Sinc has high standards and is a bit of a perfectionist but at the end of the day, this team and this country love Christine Sinclair more than anything, and so they’ll rally around her and we’ll be on and have her ready for the next game.”
But the penalty underscores a bigger trend: Through five games, there have been five penalties awarded — on a handball by Norway, a shove by Ireland, a trip by Nigeria, a trip by Costa Rica. VAR assisted in awarding the third in Switzerland’s 2-0 win against the Philippines.
AFTER A VAR REVIEW, PENALTY TO SWITZERLAND 🇨🇭 pic.twitter.com/qKW1Grp08k— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) July 21, 2023
AFTER A VAR REVIEW, PENALTY TO SWITZERLAND 🇨🇭 pic.twitter.com/qKW1Grp08k
It’s a trend to watch as the tournament continues.
The Philippines women’s national team is one of several making history in this tournament with a World Cup debut. No other team from the Phillippines, men’s or women’s, has played in a World Cup before, so the country’s national anthem was heard at the World Cup for the first time Friday.
FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER 🎵The Philippines' national anthem plays at the FIFA Women's World cup for the very first time! 🇵🇭 pic.twitter.com/llwk2rN7xS— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) July 21, 2023
FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER 🎵The Philippines' national anthem plays at the FIFA Women's World cup for the very first time! 🇵🇭 pic.twitter.com/llwk2rN7xS