PARIS — At the final whistle of their Women’s World Cup opener, Argentina’s players dropped to their knees as if they’d won the entire tournament.
They didn’t even win the game.
But for the first time ever, they didn’t lose, either.
Argentina played to a 0-0 draw against Japan to earn its first-ever point at the World Cup. Argentina lost its previous six World Cup matches in 2003 and 2007, then missed the 2011 and 2015 tournaments.
For a nation that loves the game and worships its globally successful men’s team, the draw against Japan can be as good as a win. Argentina had been outscored, 33-2, in six previous World Cup games.
“I think we can really inspire people a lot,” said midfielder Estefania Banini. “We can also start a new process.”
Argentina wants far more than points at the World Cup. The bigger goal is to touch more hearts and minds back home.
“For women’s football in Argentina, it is great that we are starting to flourish,” Argentina coach Carlos Borrello said. “We are starting on our way and just starting to face up to these powerful forces in football.”
Borrello said he hopes for a push for equality between the men’s and women’s games — and also across Argentinian society as a whole.
“We have started getting support now from the Argentinean football federation for the team. It’s true that results help a lot, and this will definitely help and reinforce all the work,” he said. “It will help us to continue on the great path. We have to also strengthen the grassroots of our game.”
Things are changing in Argentina.
Previous concerns about a lack of uniforms and inadequate training conditions have been addressed, two years after players went on strike because stipends went unpaid. A movement for equality pushed the country’s soccer association into giving professional status to the national women’s league. This coincided with the country’s feminist movement taking to the streets with marches against violence and inequality.
Japan took until the 50th minute to test Correa, who stopped forward Kumi Yokoyama’s low shot from about 35 meters out. Minutes later, Japan midfielder Yui Hasegawa botched a good chance, swiping left of the goal from close range after a cross from the right.
Correa then palmed away a low cross from the right in the last minute and dealt well with a corner kick deep into injury time.
MONTPELLIER, France — Kadeisha Buchanan scored the lone goal at the end of the first half and Canada held on to defeat Cameroon in the Women’s World Cup.
Buchanan charged into the box on a corner kick and her header bounced into the goal. But all eyes were on her teammate Christine Sinclair, who is four goals away from becoming the sport’s all-time international top scorer.
Sinclair sits at 181 goals, trailing only former U.S. forward Abby Wambach, who had 184 goals in international competition to set the record among men and women.
The Canadian captain’s free kick was blocked and cleared away in the 51st minute, and she had another good chance in the closing minutes. She had scored in the opening game of each of her previous four World Cup appearances.
Cameroon was a surprise at the 2015 World Cup, advancing out of the group stage before falling to China in the round of 16.
___
More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/apf-Soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports