The first four days of the World Cup have produced a string of curiously narrow score lines for some of the tournament favorites. A scoreless tie for Canada. A 1-0 win for England, the European champion, against the World Cup newcomer Haiti. The United States’ 3-0 victory over Vietnam.
Sunday brought the prospect of the tournament’s first true shocker. And then just like that, it was gone.
The scare came courtesy of South Africa, and striker Hildah Magaia, who bundled a rebound into Sweden’s goal three minutes into the second half to give her team a stunning 1-0 lead against Sweden, the world’s third-ranked team.