Super sub Girelli earns Italy win over Argentina
Substitute Cristiana Girelli's 87th-minute header gave Italy a 1-0 win over Argentina in their Women's World Cup opener at Eden Park on Monday, denying the South Americans a first win at the global soccer showpiece.
Veteran striker Girelli, 33, replaced 16-year-old midfielder Giulia Dragoni in the 83rd minute and needed only four minutes to make an impact, beating goalkeeper Vanina Correa with a fine header to seal a hard-fought victory.
Italy play Sweden in Wellington on Saturday. The two teams are level on points but Sweden hold a slender advantage in Group G, topping the group on number of goals scored thanks to their 2-1 win over South Africa on Sunday.
"When you have a player like Cristiana Girelli on the bench and you see that you can't actually score ... my choice was very simple," Italy coach Milena Bertolini said.
"She's a weapon for us. We had a lot of the ball but just couldn't get it into the net. And so having a player like her on the bench, it's natural that you ask her to take to the pitch."
Italy's Ariana Caruso and Valentina Giacinti both had goals ruled offside in a competitive first half after Argentina nearly made a sensational start to the game, when Mariana Larroquette's bicycle kick went narrowly wide in the second minute.
After a slow start to the second half, Italy settled into their rhythm and looked more likely to score. Manuela Giuliano's free kick drifted over the crossbar before Giadda Greggi drew a smart stop from Correa in the 82nd minute.
Goalkeeper Francesca Durante pushed away Argentine midfielder Florencia Bonsegundo's attempt from a free kick in stoppage time, ensuring a winning start in the tournament for the 2019 quarter-finalists in front of a crowd of 30,889.
Bertolini was vindicated after putting her faith in Dragoni as the teenager impressed on her debut before making way for Girelli, the oldest member of Italy's squad, who scored her 54th international goal on her 104th appearance.
"Giulia is a talent," Bertolini said. "She was ready both technically and tactically. I think that she did very well considering her age and also playing in such a big stadium in such a big event."
Argentina caused plenty of problems for Durante but could not manage a shot on target until Bonsegundo's free kick in the 94th minute.
They next face South Africa on Friday in Dunedin, with both teams still searching for a first World Cup victory.
"It was a very even match," Argentina coach German Portanova said. "At times we controlled it and they did not have many opportunities. The result was somewhat unfair. A draw would have been the right score."
Popp doubles down as Germany maul Morocco 6-0
Talismanic captain Alexandra Popp scored a brace as Germany launched their bid for a third Women's World Cup title with a 6-0 demolition of debutants Morocco on Monday.
In the tournament's most one-sided match to date, veteran striker Popp led from the front, heading in two first-half strikes before Klara Buehl, Lea Schueller and two own goals blew out the score after the break in front of 27,256 at Melbourne Rectangular Stadium.
The Germans' cake-walk put them top of Group H on three points, with rivals Colombia and South Korea to play their opener in Sydney on Tuesday.
"We stayed true to ourselves," Germany coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg told reporters.
"It was a great to have a 6-0 score ... I look forward to the next match, but today we want to be happy with what we did today. It was truly a team performance."
Seven months after the Moroccan men's fairytale run to the World Cup semi-finals in Qatar, the Atlas Lionesses became the first Arab team to take the field at the women's showpiece.
They will hope for better in their next match against South Korea after humiliation against the Euro 2022 runners-up, who took little time to get into their groove and were ruthless to the finish.
"As it stands we came across a team which was superior to our own -- David and Goliath," said Morocco coach Reynald Pedros.
"They had something that we didn’t.
"I think it goes without saying we were probably going to lose but I think we didn’t need to lose by six goals."
Under the first burst of sustained German pressure, Morocco were quick to crumble.
A poor clearance allowed Kathrin Hendrich space on the right to swing in a cross that goalkeeper Khadija Er-Rmichi misread and Popp thumped in from directly in front in the 11th minute.
Morocco regrouped through captain Ghizlane Chebbak, who launched a long-range effort in the 24th minute, causing Germany's keeper Merle Frohms to scurry across for the save.
The first shot on goal energised the Moroccans but their set piece defending proved a dead weight.
Whirling around in the box, Popp scored again in the 39th minute, Buehl's corner pinging off the back of her head.
An animated Chebbak demanded more from her team in a fiery halftime address but 23 seconds after the restart, the Moroccans conceded a third goal.
After Lina Magull hit the woodwork from close range, Buehl swooped on a clearance and filed a sizzling, low strike into the right corner.
The night grew ugly for the Moroccans as defender Hanane Ait El Haj put the ball into her own net less than 10 minutes later.
Worse was to come as the Moroccan keeper punched a clearance straight into the head of a team mate, setting up a second own goal by defender Zineb Redouani in the 79th minute.
Lea Schueller completed the rout a minute before stoppage time, smashing in the sixth goal after team mate Lena Lattwein's attempt careened off the keeper.
