Every team in the world cup has now played their first group stage game. I haven't watched all of them, but I've kept an eye on the results. An alarming number of teams favorited to win the tournament had shaky starts:
Canada tied Nigeria 0-0 after their star player, Christine Sinclair, had her penalty saved.
England wins 1-0 against Haiti, but only by the skin of their teeth. Like the Canada game, this came down to a penalty. The first penalty attempt was saved, but the save was overruled by VAR, and Stanway converters the second attempt.
France tied Jamaica 0-0, which gave Jamaica their first ever result in a world cup.
The 0-0 ties open up the possibilities of group upsets–if Canada, England, and France tie or lose the next game, it's the equivalent of an F1 car crashing and blowing up in a giant fireball--you hate to see it, but you can't look away.
It is heartening to see the parity of teams improving as well. Countries like the Philippines, Ireland, and Haiti are proving that the title of World Cup Debutante is not a sign that they can be taken lightly.
Other countries are behaving a lot more predictably.
Germany beat Morocco 6-0, the widest goal differential thus far in the tournament.
Japan beat Zambia 5-0, even after 3 goals disallowed for offside.
Group Stage round 2 is already underway–Group A is topsy-turvy and will be a talking point for the next five days of play, with a definite possibility of more upsets.
