Read the match report
With that, I bid you adieu. I’ll be back later in the Cup. For now, I’m off to vote, and I’ll probably miss two U.S. goals. C’est la vie.
Merci beaucoup pour ... um, following along with me. I was terrible in my French classes. Probably cost me valedictorian status in high school.
See you next time ...
A continent brags ...
All @UEFA teams have played their opening #FIFAWWC games - and they have won every match v non-European opposition so far as #SWE beat #CHI 2-0 through @KosovareAsllani and new star Madelen Janogy, finally beating the brilliant @PSG_Feminines keeper @TIANEendler🙌🙌🙌🙌 pic.twitter.com/fPnNGDcz9b
— #WEURO2021 (@UEFAWomensEURO) June 11, 2019
How stubborn were the Chilean defenders?
20 - Sweden's goal came from their 20th shot of this match against Chile - only Spain against South Africa (21) needed more shots before scoring their opening goal of a match at this year's Women's World Cup. Relief. #FIFAWWC pic.twitter.com/dDqZiL5fWk
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) June 11, 2019
Full-time: Chile 0-2 Sweden
To answer the question of which team would be helped by the rain delay -- it was Sweden. Chile’s resistance finally broke down, and the team in yellow avoid the banana peel.
Updated
90 min +5: Lopez sees yellow for a ridiculous late tackle. That could hurt down the road. And that’s the last action of the game.
GOAL! Chile 0-2 Sweden (Janogy 90 +4)
Madelen Janogy, one of the least experienced players on the roster, must not know that you can’t go 1v4. She does. She beats them all. Then she drills the ball into the near corner.
A superb goal to cap off the game.
Updated
90 min +4: Sweden back in possession mode.
90 min +2: Sweden have possession in the Chilean third but give it away with an impatient ball into the box. Chile now at midfield.
90 min +1: We’ll play on for five minutes.
Updated
90 min: Suddenly, it’s a midfield battle, as Sweden retreat.
And a SHOT. Lara takes a pass at the edge of the area and the Swedish defense lets her turn to her right. It goes over the bar, and I’m not sure Lindahl would’ve had that one.
Updated
89 min: Chile get a free kick. There’s nothing to it. But they did put numbers forward, so maybe they’re not completely content to park it at 0-1.
88 min: Chile have settled for 0-1. The Fox crew are talking about goal differential, and they point to the fact that Chile just brought in a defender.
Four third-place teams go through. So Chile must be thinking that they can beat Thailand, then maybe hold the USA and go through on goal difference.
Updated
87 min: Nearly a second goal. A ball over the top to Jakobsson. Endler can’t get there in time. The lob goes over the bar.
Updated
85 min: And the game changes ...
The Chilean players gather in a state of shock. Sweden are pinging the ball around at will. Not sure Chile will see much of the ball.
Chilean sub: Soto is in.
Updated
GOAL! Chile 0-1 Sweden (Asllani 83)
It’s scrappy, but they’ll take it.
A poor cross pings in the box. The sub, Janogy, pops it forward. It’s touched again, and Asllani cleans up with an emphatic close-range shot into the top of the net.
Updated
78 min: Endler sets a four-person wall. The ref paints a line. There’s a palpable sense that this is a big moment.
And it’s ... tricky! Seger passes it to the edge of the area. Then there’s a one-touch pass straight ahead to an onrushing forward, but that touch is too heavy, and Endler is happy to gobble it up like she’s in Hungry Hungry Hippos.
Updated
77 min: Sweden are playing out of the back, and Chile are actually pressing a bit. Maybe they figure they can go high-energy after that delay?
But Asllani wins a free kick just outside the box. Yellow card to Guerrero.
Updated
I’m being asked the name of a funky song the BBC is playing. That will be rather difficult to answer from the suburbs of Washington, DC.
Updated
How would a draw affect the USA?
The good news would be that their biggest rival in the group will drop two points.
The bad news is that they still have to face Endler.
Updated
74 min: SHOT! And it’s the best shot of the game for Sweden. Jakobsson fires from the right of the area, and Endler has to tip it over.
Two more corners follow. Endler punches each one clear.
Updated
72 min: Sweden pick-up with a throw-in that rolls out of play. Yikes.
Updated
Match resumed
Can Sweden turn its dominance into a winning goal?
Whoa ... they’re saying two minutes now? Now Fox is saying it’s 10 minutes, not 20. Oh boy. I just let the dog out.
Back on the field ...
Echauffement en ce moment... Il ne pleut plus... mais pelouse gorgée d'eau... Ça va fuser... Les Suèdoises doivent arracher la victoire car elles ont archi dominé... #FIFAWWC #CHISWE pic.twitter.com/eoBZuEygb8
— Pierre S. (@pierre_wwa) June 11, 2019
They get 20 minutes to warm up. Not sure of the exact time they stepped back on the field.
I’ll be back in five.
Break time
Reconvene in 15 minutes, everyone?
If you’re watching USA-Thailand by the time this one resumes, you’ll have all the more reason to keep this commentary on your screen!
The FIFA regulations tell us ...
... very little. Seems like the decision on when to restart is at FIFA’s discretion.
The radar is promising.
More email:
Olympia Diamond is at work at grateful for the commentary. By the time this storm clears, you might be home from work.
Peter Oh wants to know if they’re serving orange slices during the delay. I’ll take one. Need something nutritious after that cake.
Gerard Nugent wants to know the policy on restarting, which I’m going to read right now.
Well, after I make a correction pointed out by Pavel Rubio Hormazabal. Some photographers are calling Christiane Endler “Claudia” instead, and I missed it on one of the captions. I’ll fix it now.
Reminder: We are in a delay due to a thunderstorm.
Let’s check the email ...
Sarah Rothwell apologizes for not watching this match: “Sorry, I’m just watching you (or your MBM, at least). My neighbour’s cat insists I bring home a pay check so that he can continue living in the manner to which he has become accustomed.”
Is your neighbor (I’m American, so I’ll drop the “u”) related to Chuck Blazer?
Meanwhile, at the U-20 tournament ...
Want some controversy?
Thunder & lightning ⛈ delays in France. So let’s check out the U20 WC semifinal in Poland. Italy 🇮🇹 equalizes in stoppage time. VAR takes the goal away. Ukraine 🇺🇦 goin to the U20 World Cup Final. You judge. ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/gBT6Dfw2It
— Anthony DiCicco (@DiCiccoMethod) June 11, 2019
Accuweather does not give us much hope here.
To answer one email: We’ll need to figure out how long a delay they can weather. (Sorry, that’s awful.)
Updated
On Fox, Ariane Hingst thinks the delay will help Chile re-organize. Heather O’Reilly thinks it will benefit Sweden because their offense is misfiring.
I’m with Hingst. Sweden was getting closer and closer.
It’ll be a while. Fox informs us that they’ll follow the 30-minute rule familiar to all of us youth soccer coaches. Then something we don’t get in youth soccer -- a 20-minute warmup.
Delay!
The officials have cleared the field due to the weather. Thunder has been heard.
Not to be selfish here, but this means I might miss part of the USA-Thailand match. I still have to vote in a local election.
Updated
70 min: A couple of shots are blocked, and then Eriksson sends one just over the bar.
To follow up on the last one -- so is anyone watching THIS game?
A stat that could be read as a good sign for women’s soccer or evidence of the stench hanging over the U.S. men.
Via @showbuzzdaily, viewership totals for #FIFAWWC games on big Fox so far:#ENG-#SCO: 1.482M#NOR-#NGA: 1.209M#ESP-#RSA: 1.081M
— Jonathan Tannenwald (@thegoalkeeper) June 11, 2019
All three beat the #USMNT-Venezuela friendly, which drew 1.037M.
67 min: A yellow card for Eriksson, who might have slid farther than expected on the wet pitch. She catches Lopez on the foot, and Lopez is down.
Not doubting that the collision hurt, but we’re to the point in the match at which Chile might spend a few more seconds on these situations. Lopez is checked for a while but then gives a thumbs-up as she walks away.
65 min: Swedish subs -- Blackstenius out, Anvegard in. That’s a drop in experience.
Rolfo out, Hurtig in.
64 min: And the next corner is played in front of the mob. That’s unfortunate, because that means the ball is out of play.
Subs stepping up for Sweden.
62 min: A quick check of Twitter finds that no one I follow is watching this match, which is a pity. Sweden are getting closer to that breakthrough. A shot clangs off Lara for a corner. This one actually goes into the six-yard area, and is cleared for another corner.
Updated
60 min: Sweden are finding much more space in the second half. They’re stretching the defense and putting dangerous crosses into the box. One is played out for another corner, and we have maybe 12 players in the six-yard area. Eriksson plays it behind all of them, and Seger steps back for a weak header. That’s probably not what they intended.
Updated
58 min: Another head collision, and Chilean forward María Urrutia is taken off on a stretcher. Chile will not wait to see if she passes the trainer’s check -- Yesenia López is sent into the game in her place.
56 min: Rolfo brings the ball straight down the middle, with a couple of players wide and not too many Chilean defenders back. But she finds the inevitable futility of indecision, eventually firing harmlessly with a couple of defenders ahead of her. The deflection is no problem for Endler.
A second camera view confirms that it’s raining. Substantially. Fans are moving under cover.
55 min: We’re told that it’s raining, even though it looks like a bright, sunshiny day.
A through ball finds Blackstenius, who takes a rather pointless touch toward the end line rather than the goal. The flag goes up, anyway.
Updated
53 min: Another long shot from Chile. Lara is 35 yards out and decides to see if she can lob one over Lindahl. She does, but it’s over the bar as well.
Finally made it to a @FIFAWWC in person! We are watching and cheering on the @USWNT from @Space_Station – go #USA!
— Anne McClain (@AstroAnnimal) June 11, 2019
📍Reims, France pic.twitter.com/eb8uP44QJl
That’s basically the view from the typical press tribune.
50 min: CHANCE! Seger swipes the ball in the center, and Sweden have a 4v4. The ball goes wide to Rolfo, whose tame shot is made wild by a deflection that misses by an uncomfortable margin. The ensuing corner is unremarkable.
48 min: Hmmm. Jakobsson gets into the area, and Saez gets a foot between her and the ball. I’m no ref, but ... oh, wait, I am. That seemed more interesting than a lot of the incidents that have gone to VAR in this Cup.
Kickoff: Chile play the ball deep into the Swedish half. Nothing interesting results.
Updated
@LaRoja bien aguantando atrás el 1T en su debut #FIFAWWC#Chi
— Dato Fútbol (@DatoFutbol_cl) June 11, 2019
Tapadón de @TIANEendler
Sin la pelota: posesión 30%
Solo 3 tiros (2 larga dist.)
Clave mejorar la precisión de pases! (Menos del 60%)#CHISWE#datofutbol pic.twitter.com/VfsYINsjCS
With passing stats like that, Chile might need a Said Owairan-style run to score.
(Coincidentally, that’s the only men’s World Cup match I’ve ever attended.)
The story of the World Cup so far is that favored teams are having trouble breaking down teams with resolute defenses and the occasional counterattack.
- Japan failed to score against Argentina
- Canada labored to get one goal against Cameroon
- Germany only got one against China
- And Australia paid the price, losing 1-2 to Italy
Halftime: Chile 0-0 Sweden
The story of the half is Chilean keeper Christiane Endler, who has lived up to the hype.
Correction: It is obviously not 0-1. Apologies.
Updated
45 min +3: Fifth corner of the half for Sweden. This one goes to the middle of the 6-yard box, and somehow, Endler’s fist sends it clear.
45 min +2: There’s your long-range shot! A lob sends Lindahl scrambling, but it’s too high.
45 min: Swedish corner kick to the near post. Deflects out. Shot hits Chilean defender. Follow-up shot goes toward the heavens. The women in yellow are frustrated.
Updated
44 min: CHANCE! Asllani puts a cross right where Blackstenius wants to go. She gets there but gets her head on the underside of the ball, which simple physics will tell us is not a dangerous shot. If she had risen a couple of inches higher, that would have been a stern test for Endler.
Email from Rob Edwards: “So far I’ve been disappointed we haven’t seen too many long range efforts on goal to test the goalies. Feels like that could be a good approach for some of the lesser fancied teams struggling to move play up-field like Chile.”
And there’s been some talk that Swedish keeper Hedvig Lindahl is past her best. No such talk about Endler, obviously.
41 min: Chilean shot! A quick sequence ends in an optimistic shot that whistles well wide of the post. But they’re smiling.
40 min: Sweden could possibly use a bit more patience. They get the ball deep one more time down the right flank, but it ends with a harmless shot.
Updated
38 min: A Swedish free kick sees a training-ground effort to send everyone in motion. The ball, though, does not connect with any of them, so it’s a bit of a waste of energy.
37 min: A Chilean counter sees an attempt to chip a ball over the defense to catch a forward making a well-timed run, but it’s headed clear.
Quickly the other way, and Blackstenius gets on the end of a beautiful low cross to the middle of the area. But Endler comes out and gives Blackstenius no angle to shoot, and the ball goes wide.
Updated
35 min: Another save for Endler, this one rather routine. Not much contact on the header from eight-yards out, and Endler simply catches it on the bounce.
Chile get the ball down the right flank but conspire to knock it out of play under moderate pressure. That bodes ill for any attacks going the other direction.
Updated
33 min: Another Chilean defender down, Guerrero this time. Players take advantage of the stoppage to get some water. Alas, I do not have time to raid the fridge. Need to wash down that cake.
Updated
31 min: And another Endler save, a header in a dangerous spot but drilled straight at the Chilean keeper’s stomach.
29 min: ESPN tells us Sweden has outpossessed Chile 74%-26%, but Chile have the only shot on goal. Not sure about that. Endler has twice had to snag or swat the ball just in front of the line, and each time, the ball was quite deliberately sent in that direction. That seems like a shot on goal to me.
And she’s once again in action, racing out to collect a through ball.
Updated
27 min: Replay from the side of the goal shows that shot got within a foot or two of the line before Endler managed to reach back and get her hand to it.
Chile again get possession in the attacking third, but it’s brief.
25 min: Third corner kick for Sweden, and we once again have a convention at the near post.
AND IT’S CLOSE! No idea off which player that ball caromed, but Endler, like a good hockey goalie, manages to spot the ball in time and swat it away.
23 min: Now Sweden are packing their own box out of necessity as the Chilean front line presses and completes a couple of passes.
Halfway through the half, Sweden certainly look superior to Chile but have yet to take full control. Best way to do that would be to score, and they haven’t come close to that. Just two half-chances.
Email roundup:
- Sticksportsfan predicts a 2-0 Swedish win.
- Pablo Kiessling tells us Fernanda Pinilla is a PhD student in physics at Universidad de Chile.
- And Ann Munn points out a neat fact of geography – this is the Arctic v the Antarctic. Maybe they’ll have a Nordic skiing tiebreaker.
Updated
18 min: So we go 10v10 for a short time, and the slight bit of extra space gives Sweden a chance to put a tantalizing ball through the penalty area.
Updated
16 min: Another high shot! This time it’s Hedvig Lindahl who has to focus as she backpedals.
Two players down after a difficult collision. One is Asllani, who would be a tremendous loss. The other is Sáez. They’re holding their heads. Time to be checked out a bit.
15 min: Set pieces can change a game, but Chile’s free kick from the right flank hits a gaggle of Swedish defenders.
13 min: Another long sequence of passes until Magdalena Eriksson decides she’s had enough of this and strikes a ball from the left 25 yards out. It’s actually awkward for Endler, who has to backpedal all the way to her line to catch the high shot.
11 min: Another bit of Chilean possession on the left flank, this time with Rosario Balmaceda. Nothing threatening right now, though.
8 min: Chile counter! Francisca Lara shrugs off a defender on the left flank.
7 min: Chile briefly had seven players within six yards of the end line. It’s the old chicken-or-egg argument -- are they packing it back deliberately, or are they simply unable to get the ball.
Now a corner in which roughly 80 players are crowded in the 6-yard box by the near post.
Updated
5 min: Javiera Toro is rather apologetic after accidentally whacking Asllani in the calf. A foul gives Endler a chance to clear the lines, but Sweden win it back with ease.
Updated
3 min: First shot of the game. A curling cross from finds Sofia Jakobsson a few yards out. She had a defender close by and can’t get a clean shot. Sweden do earn a corner, which is promptly squandered.
Updated
2 min: Sweden connecting a few passes rather easily, with a brief interruption in which Chile managed to whack the ball forward.
Kickoff: Sweden quickly chips the ball into the attacking third.
From J.R. in Illinois: “Hey Beau, Sounds like Chile may have an advantage having a nutrition student in the team because I assume to win the World Cup, just like Ryan Giggs said of the Premier League, “It’s a war of nutrition”. Also, you can’t leave us hanging. You now must tell us what you are eating for lunch.”
Some belVita biscuits. Then a diet soda. And because we just celebrated my mother-in-law’s milestone birthday, some cake. I’ve lost more than 30 pounds in the last 15 months, so I’m trying to find them.
From a correspondent who played a bit of high-level football ...
Can’t wait to see Endler in action! Is she the best GK in the tourny? #CHISWE #WWC19 #ChangeTheGame
— Hope Solo (@hopesolo) June 11, 2019
We’ll see! She might be busy today. But so far, it’s surely UNC Wilmington’s Sydney Schneider (Jamaica), isn’t it?
From the emails, a word from Abhijato Sensarma: “While one knows in their heart that Sweden should come out on top today, a Chile win will produce shockwaves and make this a much more interesting tournament!”
Perhaps, but aren’t we all hoping the USA and Sweden have six points each when they meet for first place in the group? The winner would likely face ... France. OK, maybe first place isn’t so desirable.
Please do share your thoughts by email or Twitter. Just don’t call. I get so many robocalls, especially with local elections coming up, that I generally send everything to voice mail.
Random fact: Chilean forward Rosario Balcameda’s Instagram feed says she is an “estudiante de nutrición.”
Please don’t tell her what I’m eating for lunch.
The Fox Sports pregame commentary can be summed up as follows ...
Sweden can’t score.
Chile can’t defend.
So it’s the classic “resistible force against a movable object” matchup.
Sweden: Intro and lineup
Forget the bunker-and-counter of the 2016 Olympic quarterfinal. Sweden can pick teams apart. The Guardian’s profile tells us coach Peter Gerhardsson, who replaced U.S. coach-turned-tormenter Pia Sundhage, has been playing the ball from the back in a dynamic 4-2-3-1 formation.
The anchor is the veteran Caroline Seger, who played a couple of years in Women’s Professional Soccer before that U.S. league shut down and has passed through the glitzy squad at Lyon. Kosovare Asllani is a potent attacker who also played a bit in WPS. Nilla Fischer, a longtime player with German powerhouse Wolfsburg, provides defensive stability.
All three of those players are in The Guardian’s top 100 in the world, as are Bayern Munich forward Fridolina Rolfö and young Montpellier forward Stina Blackstenius.
The starters are:
GK: Lindahl
D (r-l): Glas, Fischer, Sembrant, Eriksson
M: Rubensson, Asllani, Seger (captain)
F: Jakobsson, Blackstenius, Rolfö
Chile: Intro and lineup
The South American runners-up have a defense and goalkeeper who will make things difficult. Christiane Endler, who played college soccer at South Florida, started in goal for Paris St. Germain in the Champions League quarterfinals and was named to The Guardian’s top 100 list for her heroics in getting Chile through the Copa America Femenina.
Two defenders (Rocio Soto, Su Helen Galaz) play in Spain with Zaragoza; two more (Camila Sáez, Carla Guerrero) play with Rayo Vallecano.
The midfield and front line also have a couple of players in the Spanish league. The best-known player to U.S. fans would be Yanara Aedo, formerly of the Washington Spirit. (She also scored the winning goal when the Spirit Reserves won the 2015 W-League championship. No, not the Australian W-League.)
The starters are:
GK: Endler
D (r-l): Galaz, Guerrero, Sáez, Toro
M: Araya, Aedo, Lara
F: Zamora, Urrutia, Balmaceda
So that’s six players based in Spain in the defense and midfield. The forwards are all based in South America.
Just warmed up the vocal chords for Chile 🇨🇱 v Sweden 🇸🇪 commentary by belting out “Wind Beneath My Wings”. Apologies to all I’ve offended inside (and possibly outside) Roazhon Park in Rennes. #FIFAWWC
— Jacqui Oatley (@JacquiOatley) June 11, 2019
I turned up for a recent refereeing assignment blasting Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off” in my car. I’m not one to judge. Besides when you’re a referee, singing about how the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate is rather apt.
Preamble
Good day or evening to all.
Let’s state the obvious here -- the main interest in this game from a U.S. point of view is that these teams are the next two opponents in group play. But it’s also a classic matchup between a perennial contender and a team that has never been on this sort of stage before.
Sweden has never won the grand prize at the World Cup or Olympics, but the team has been pesky since international play began in earnest in the 1990s. Also, and we hate to bring up a bad memory for U.S. fans, but the Swedes knocked the USA out of the 2016 Olympics.
Chile has never qualified for anything. The most startling stat in The Guardian’s profile: The country has 727 women registered as adult players. That’s it. But they’ve ramped up a good bit in the last decade, with nearly a dozen players signed to European clubs, including most of the players at the back.
The assumption in this group is that the USA and Sweden will bulldoze their way through their first two games before settling the group winner in a grudge match. But this World Cup has already seen some traditional powers and new favorites struggling to break through against the underdogs. Scotland made things interesting against England. Cameroon proved to be stubborn opposition for Canada. And Italy returned to the top international level with a win over Australia, whom some of us picked to reach the final. (OK, maybe just me.)
Beau will be here shortly, in the meantime here are our guides to today’s protagonists:
