Amanda Perobelli/Reuters
Sweden reached the semi-finals of last year’s European Championship
CNN
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South Africa were denied what would have been a historic draw for the country as Sweden stormed back to win 2-1 late on. Women’s World Cup.
In the 90th minute in Wellington, New Zealand’s Amanda Ilested found the net for the Swedes to break South African hearts.
South Africa looked set to claim their first point in Women’s World Cup history.
Hilda Magaya punched the rebound over the line for South Africa in the 48th minute. It was South Africa’s second goal in the history of the tournament.
Andrew Kornaga/AP
South African players celebrate as South Africa take the lead against Sweden.
The South African goalscorer was later substituted, leaving the pitch in tears after sustaining an injury in the process of scoring.
But in the 66th minute, Sweden advanced to the semi-finals of the tournament four years ago. Initially it was considered an own goal before being awarded to Fridolina Rolfo.
Catherine Iville/Getty Images
Sweden finished third at the 2019 Women’s World Cup.
The Swedish side were far from their best, but that should not detract from South Africa’s impressive performance as a team ranked 54th in the world and making their Women’s World Cup debut in France 2019.
The 2019 finalist is on a winning streak
Elsewhere, Portugal missed out on their Women’s World Cup debut, but eventually lost 1-0 against the Netherlands.
A goal from Dutch defender Stephanie van der Gracht within 15 minutes gave the 2019 World Cup runners-up the initiative as they took complete control of proceedings.
Although Portugal struggled for the rest of the game, the Netherlands’ experience showed.
Despite the defeat, Portugal will feel buoyed by their performance – but will need to progress to the final three to make a mark in the competition.
2019 Finals Recap – The Netherlands are delighted to have started their campaign with three points as they prepare to face an unopposed USWNT in their next match.
