The 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup got underway on Saturday in dramatic fashion with hosts Canada converting an injury-time goal on a penalty kick to defeat China 1-0 in Edmonton. Later, the Netherlands defeated New Zealand 1-0 as well, winning in their first ever World Cup appearance.
China and Canada seemed destined to open the World Cup with a 0-0 draw in front of over 53,000 fans -- a Canadian record for a men or women's soccer game -- until a somewhat controversial penalty was called in the 91st minute.
Christine Sinclair coolly slotted the penalty kick into the back of the net for the late winner that put the hosts in the driver seat of Group A.
The call in question and goal, via Telemundo:
Questionable Call: Was it worth a penalty? By the letter of the law, yes. There was clearly a raised elbow across the face of Canadian striker Adriana Leone and the referee was in great position to see it and never hesitated to make the call. It was a bad time for Chinese defender Rong Zhao to put the official to the test.
WOW! The #FIFAWWC attendance at Commonwealth Stadium of 53,058 is biggest sports crowd in Canadian history. #CAN #CHN pic.twitter.com/8171gU00Jq
— FIFA Women'sWorldCup (@FIFAWWC) June 6, 2015
In the second game of the day, the Netherlands defeated New Zealand 1-0 thanks to an outstanding goal from long range in the 33rd minute by Lieke Martens.
Let's observe and admire the effort, via NBC Deportes:
Here's a look at the standings for the group after the first day of action:
| Group A | ||||||||
| Team | G | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS |
| Canada | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | +1 | 3 |
| Netherlands | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | +1 | 3 |
| China | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 0 |
| New Zealand | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 0 |
And what's on tap for Sunday:
| Sunday, June 7 FIFA Women's World Cup Schedule | |||
| Time | Game | Stadium | TV |
| 1:00 p.m. | Norway vs. Thailand | Lansdowne Stadium, Ottawa | FOX |
| 4:00 p.m. | Germany vs. Ivory Coast | Lansdowne Stadium, Ottawa | FOX |
| *All times ET (Full World Cup Schedule) | |||
Group A will get back to action on Thursday, June 11 with China facing the Netherlands and Canada up against New Zealand.
And with that, the Women's World Cup is officially here, with the United States waiting to make their debut on Monday night against Australia (7:30 p.m. ET).
