Tuesday's Women's World Cup round-up: Philippines shock New Zealand

But on Wednesday, all attention turns to Ireland's decisive clash against Canada.

HISTORY: Philippines' Sarina Bolden celebrates her goal against New Zealand. (AP Photo/John Cowpland)

World Cup round-up

Wednesday’s games

Group C: Japan v Costa Rica, UTV, 6am.

Group C: Spain v Zambia RTÉ 2 and UTV, 8.30am.

Group B: Canada v Republic of Ireland RTÉ 2 and UTV, 1pm.

Ones to watch

Japan v Costa Rica:Saki Kumagai (Japan).

Quite possibly the most successful Japanese player of all time to play football in Europe (including the men). Her penalty won Japan the World Cup way back in 2011 and the defensive midfielder has amassed 26 major trophies since then. Now at Bayern Munich, she is Japan’s captain and will be hoping to lead them to a second successive win and book a place in the next round.

Spain v Zambia:Alexia Putellas (Spain).

Barcelona’s back-to-back Ballon D’Or winner is potentially the best player in the world but after needing ACL surgery, she is only now just starting to return to action. She featured in Spain’s opening game and given that they were expected to win easily here, she is likely to get more minutes as she steps up her recovery. She may even feature on the scoresheet.

Canada v Republic of Ireland: Abbie Larkin (Ireland).

We have to pick an Irish player here, don’t we? Given her exciting cameo off the substitute’s bench against Australia, Abbie Larkin has been tipped to start. But even if she doesn’t begin the game, the 18-year-old, who is now Ireland’s youngest-ever World Cup participant, is sure to feature at some stage, especially if the Girls in Green need a goal.

Yesterday’s highlights

Group H

Colombia 2

South Korea 0

Linda Caicedo scored on her debut at the Women’s World Cup as Colombia beat South Korea 2-0.

The Real Madrid forward, who was diagnosed with ovarian cancer at the age of 15, fired in her country’s second goal of the match at Sydney Football Stadium before racing toward Colombia’s fans in celebration.

The 18-year-old, who is an inspirational figure on and off the field, further enhanced her reputation as one of football’s rising stars with her goal and performance as Colombia made a winning start to the tournament with Catalina Usme scoring their opening goal from the penalty spot.

Group A

New Zealand 0

Philippines 1

California-born forward Sarina Bolden, inset below, headed the winner as the Philippines spoiled co-hosts New Zealand’s party with a stunning 1-0 victory in their Women’s World Cup Group A clash.

The Philippines lost 2-0 to Switzerland in their opening match and had been widely expected to struggle against the Football Ferns, who were coming off their first World Cup win, over the former champions Norway, and looking to book a spot in the last 16.

Instead, the Philippines secured their own first World Cup win to keep alive their hopes of progressing in their debut tournament. New Zealand did not lack in effort but had seemingly lost the magic touch of their historic opener and missed a series of goalscoring opportunities.

Group A

Switzerland 0

Norway 0

Switzerland had goalkeeper Gaëlle Thalmann to thank for securing a valuable 0-0 draw against Norway, who recovered from a shaky start after Ada Hegerberg’s withdrawal but could not find a breakthrough in the Women’s World Cup Group A match.

The Norway coach, Hege Riise, made changes in an attempt to revive the team’s fortunes after the former champions suffered a shock opening defeat by New Zealand. Caroline Graham Hansen, Ingrid Syrstad Engen, and Julie Blakstad were dropped and replaced by Emilie Haavi, Amalie Eikeland, and Vilde Bøe Risa.

They were dealt a huge blow seconds before kick-off, however, when the 2018 Ballon d’Or winner Hegerberg, who has 42 international goals, sustained a groin injury in the pre-match warm-up.

It cost them dearly as they failed to find a way through their stubborn opponents and were forced to settle for a point.

Quote of the day

“Our issue is getting to the goals of the opponent. That is the highest pressure and the next step that we need to be concerned about, not so much if the players are lifting themselves because we all know that we were this close to a fantastic start to this tournament against Australia... We spoke with her about the one chance that you have. Don’t wait for others. Kyra [Carusa] is a goalscorer so have the guts to do it. We spoke to her about the fact that if you hesitate in the final third it is over at this level. At a lower level, you can choose a second option. But at this level, if you hesitate it is over.” – Ireland manager Vera Pauw