Argentina v South Africa: Women's World Cup 2023 Group G – live

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49 mins: Hey, it’s an MLS game! Or, at least, it’s starting to look like it, with players from both teams confronting the ref after a late whistle to call a foul on Kgoale for putting a strong hand in Bonsegundo’s face.

47 mins: CHANCE and that should’ve made it 2-0. That was on a platter for Kgatlana right in front of the net, and she scuffed it wide. Could that prove costly?

Yes indeed. Here comes Núñez. And Julieta Cruz. They’re in for Falfan and Benitez.

And regarding that “El Motorcito” nickname …

So will we see the nickname-bearer, Romina Núñez, in the second half?

On the platform formerly known as Twitter, which I don’t check very often any more, Kate expresses surprise, admitting that she doesn’t know much about football outside Europe but still would’ve expected Argentina to be on top here. Argentina certainly has more experience, both in terms of playing in World Cups and having players who have been in big-time leagues in the USA and Europe. So yes, I think it’s fair to be surprised.

South Africa's Linda Motlhalo scores a goal past Vanina Correa while Argentine defenders tune out. Photograph: Alessandra Tarantino/APHalftime: Argentina 0-1 South Africa

Play to the whistle!

Seriously!

Argentina didn’t do that. They assumed Kgatlana was in an offside position, and they let play go on without their full involvement. Motlhano made a full-speed run, and Kgatlana unselfishly tapped it to her.

And they almost got caught again on a nearly identical play, but this time, South Africa was indeed caught offside.

And again, South Africa continued to play when a ball that looked like it would roll out of play did not, and the Argentina defense was caught flat-footed.

It’s shambolic. It’s hard to believe players from a country that’s practically synonymous with soccer would have such lapses.

But credit South Africa. They’ve shown a stronger attack throughout the game. This is not a bad team at all. Can they hang on this time, unlike the opener?

45 +8 mins: CHANCE for South Africa, and again, it’s South Africa continuing to play while Argentina assume the play is done. A ball rolls awkwardly down the line but stays in play. Kgatlana hunts it down, slices into the penalty area and centers. Motlhano bids for her second goal, and this would’ve been spectacular from about 20 yards. She didn’t miss by much.

45 +6 mins: OK, I think this one is actually offside. It’s not close, the replay shows. No second goal for South Africa. Not yet.

45 +5 mins: Cesane bangs into Banini a few times, eventually drawing a whistle. Then she stands in front of the ball so Argentina can’t take a quick free kick, something referees in this Cup have been lax about penalizing. That’ll make my job more difficult when I get back on the field with a whistle this fall. (“But ref, Vietnam and South Africa did it!”)

45 +3 mins: Magaia already has one goal in this tournament, and she may well end up with another in this one. She has been consistently dangerous every time she’s had the ball on the left.

Another nasty collision, but there’s no foul here. There’s no intent on these. It’s just decadent carelessness.

45 mins: I like Taylor Swift, for the record, even though I have enough prog-rock sensibilities to appreciate Alexi Lalas citing Rush in the pregame show.

Nasty collision as South Africa tries to counter after a corner, and Mayorga gets booked for running through Kgatlana’s leg.

And now she will miss the next game. Hate to say it, but the way she has played in this half, Argentina might be able to do better.

Eight minutes of stoppage time.

43 mins: Biyana picks up a yellow for getting her foot up in the air after an opponent got her foot in the air and, more importantly, knocked the ball away. She also picked up a yellow in the opener, so she’ll miss the next game. Not many players can say that in this Cup, where referees have been as hesitant to show their cards as US concert-goers have been to part with their Taylor Swift tickets.

41 mins: Callum Wilson defends New Zealand’s attendance – “So far they have averaged approx. 22000 per game. That’s 4.5 thousand per million people. Pretty good, and probably the best in history anywhere for a womans sporting event per capita. 4500/million would equate to avergae crowds of 120000 in Aussie and 250000 in England.”

I like it.

I was there when New Zealand took their first point in a World Cup game, getting two late goals to tie Mexico in 2011. To say they were thrilled would be an understaement.

Kgoale loses a shoe. Well, she doesn’t lose it. It comes off her foot, and she runs around with it for a while before getting a chance to put it back where it belongs.

39 mins: Some confusion among both teams in the Argentine penalty area. They cancel each other out.

Banini takes a knock to the shin. Aly Wagner is furious with the lack of a whistle, but that would’ve been difficult to spot. (Have I mentioned that I’m a ref? It’s … difficult. Really difficult.)

38 mins: CHANCE! … This is more promising from Argentina. Gramaglia works down the right and chips it … a shot? a cross? … and it dings off the far post.

36 mins: Phew! I’ve caught up. Argentina has not.

32 mins: Another misadventure for South African keeper Swart, who tumbles over a couple of players like an NFL wide receiver being upended. Bonsegundo, falling backwards as she shoots, sends the ball to the sky. Well, not quite – this stadium has a roof.

Goal! Argentina 0-1 South Africa (Motlhalo 30)

Argentine defenders all put their hands up and stopped. Kgatlana probably thought she was offside, and she went slowly ahead with the ball. Motlhala smartly sprinted down the center. Kgatlana tapped it over to her, and she easily slotted into the net.

And no one celebrated.

Until the replay showed that Kgatlana was a full yard away from being in an offside position. Forget the silly little freeze-frame offside-line nonsense that isn’t as precise as it claims. This wasn’t close.

What a lapse by Argentina.

30 mins: The ball is in the net, but the entire stadium seems convinced South Africa was offside.

Now we see the replay. Uh oh. I don’t think she’s off …

29 mins: South Africa once again wins it in midfield and attacks quickly. Seoposenwe will rue her missed touch – if she could’ve settled that, she would’ve been one-on-one with the keeper.

27 mins: South Africa attacks down the left, and the omnipresent Kgatlana earns a corner.

Nick Terry asks if women cover more kilometers in a game than men. I wouldn’t think so, but there are some sites that’ll show such stats.

24 mins: The fans here aren’t numerous, but they’re nice and loud, singing with full voice. We get a good chance to hear it because we’ve apparently lost contact with Fox’s commentators, JP Dellacamera and Aly Wagner.

Nomvula Kgoale replaces Jane for South Africa. Losing Jane is a terrible blow for this team, which has started so brightly here.

22 mins: The international broadcast feed has been erratic about showing replays. We just saw one of the incident that left one player from each side down, and it’s a little gruesome. South African captain Refiloe Jane didn’t seem to be hurt too badly in the collision, but she landed with her foot twisted horribly upward, away from the ground. That’s not good. South Africa is playing with 10 players for now.

20 mins: A couple of players are down after an awkward tangle of legs and bodies, and we might see a South African substitution, an unfortunate turn this early in the game.

MT Bran writes: “Greetings from Jacksonville, FL. Will the teams tonight surpass the 58,791 passes you reported the Dutch completing in last nights game?”

Let me think about this for a second … um, no. This has not been a possession-heavy encounter so far.

18 mins: Drop ball in the South African area, which gives us a chance to notice that the referee looks like she’s wearing a goalkeeping jersey and vice versa. It’s very strange. More importantly, South Africa plays it ahead quickly and works it to the left for Magaia, who has looks exceptionally tricky and dangerous so far.

16 mins: Argentina earns a corner and … where is the keeper?! Swart makes an absolute mess of it and ends up in front of her defenders while they contest possession with the Argentine attackers.

They finally clear, but Gramaglia brings it back into the South African penalty area before putting a cross behind one of her teammates, spoiling a promising spell for Argentina.

14 mins: Nominally, South Africa is playing with one forward, but Kgatlana looks like two or three players out there. She is covering a lot of the field.

Argentina gets a bit of possession on the left, where Banini may have a chance to get to work.

12 mins (still): A turnover in midfield, and the ball is played quickly ahead to Kgatlana. Mayorga barely wins the foot race and stops the South African attack.

12 mins: Sophia Braun, from Oregon by way of Gonzaga and Liga MX side Leon, takes a throw-in about a foot from the corner flag.

10 mins: Now it’s Argentina’s turn to attack – not that teams are required to take turns, this not being American football. A cross in the air nearly finds two Argentine players, and if that sounds like a spacing problem, that’s because it is.

9 mins: Kgatlana draws a foul at midfield. Then there’s a lovely through ball, but Argentine keeper Correa has experience to spare, and she’s alert to the danger.

7 mins: Cesane turns a couple of Argentine defenders into knots on the right flank.

Nothing too concrete to report thus far, but this has the looks of a fun one. Both teams really need a win to have a realistic shot at the next round.

5 mins: The stadium in Dunedin is “the world’s first permanently-roofed stadium with natural turf,” according to a trade publication.

Both teams are showing some attacking intent.

2 mins: Corner kick to South Africa.

It’s really bright in the stadium they call the Greenhouse. The crowd is … not full. New Zealand fans really haven’t shown up for this. In fairness, it’s not the most populous country in the world.

Peter Oh is watching: “I don’t speak Spanish, but am surprised that the nickname is El Motorcito, not La Motorcita. Speaking of names, Stabile shares a legendary one with the leading scorer of the 1930 men’s World Cup.”

Speaking of similar names – I learned yesterday that Casey Phair, the youngster on South Korea’s team, is the niece of a friend of mine who lives about a mile away from me. It occurred to me that they had the same last name, but I somehow didn’t think they’d be related. Small world. But, as Steven Wright said, I wouldn’t want to paint it.

Our referee is …

… someone who didn’t have to travel far. Anna-Marie Keighley is from New Zealand. This is her third World Cup. Assistant referee Sarah Jones is also on home soil, while the other AR is Samoa’s Maria Salamasina.

I don’t make a habit of talking about other games while I’m doing one of these, but we haven’t kicked off yet, so I’m going to be contrarian once again and suggest this – Vlatko Andonovski made the right decision by not bringing in a sub late in the US women’s draw with the Netherlands. They were dominating play. No one seemed tired. Why disrupt it?

South Africa lineup

Goalkeeper: Kaylin Smart (JVW)

Defense: Bambanani Mbane (Mamelodi Sundowns) and Bongeka Gamede (University of the Western Cape) are in the center. Like Mbane, the fullbacks are from former African champion Mamelodi Sundowns: 21-year-old Karabo Dhlamini, who did not play against Sweden, is on the left; Lebogang Ramalepe is on the right.

Midfield: The two players listed as “2” in a 4-2-3-1 are two players based outside South Africa – captain Refiloe Jane (Sassuolo) and Linda Motlhalo (Glasgow City). The wingers are based in Mexico – Jermaine Seoposenwe (FC Juarez) set a Liga MX record for fastest goal (nine seconds) last year, while Noxolo Cesane (Tigres) is on the left. The star player here is attacking mid Hildah Magaia (Sejong Sportstoto), who staked South Africa to the lead against Sweden.

Forward: Thembi Kgbatlana’s resume doesn’t end with her current club (Racing Louisville). She formerly played with Atletico Madrid and has 22 goals for her country.

Argentina lineup

Goalkeeper Vanina Correa (Rosario Central) spent six years out of the sport after giving birth, then came back for her third World Cup in 2019. She’ll turn 40 next month, and she showed against Italy that she’s still a stubborn impediment for any team.

Defense: Aldana Cometti (Madrid CFF) also impressed against Italy. Her fellow center back, Miriam Mayorga (Boca Juniors), is also a doctor. Left back Eliana Stabile (Santos) is a strong set-piece taker. Sophia Braun (Club Leon), who hails from the Pacific Northwest, is on the right.

Midfield: Lorena Benitez (Palmeiras) is the defensive anchor here. On the right is 20-year-old Paulina Gramaglia (Red Bull Bragantino), who’s on loan to Brazil from the Chicago Red Stars. Florencia Bonsegundo (Madrid CFF) is in the middle along with Daiana Falfan (Deportivo UAI Urquiza). Old-school NWSL fans will remember Estefania Banini (Atletico Madrid), a dangerous dribbler who’ll operate on the left.

Forward: Mariana Larroquette (Orlando Pride) is the starter.

Subs: One of the better nicknames at the World Cup, “El Motorcito” (the “little engine”), is bestowed upon Romina Núñez (Deportivo UAI Urquiza), the only midfielder to earn a rating of 7 against Italy in The Guardian’s analysis. She’s on the bench along with 21-year-old Dalila Ippolito (Parma).

Preamble

Will we see a team win a World Cup game for the first time?

Barring a draw, yes. Neither of these teams has found that breakthrough yet. And both teams gave up late goals to lose their openers in this Cup, which means someone needs a win to have a reasonable chance of advancing.

Even if you follow the global game closely, the names in these lineups will likely be unfamiliar. But their first games – and indeed, this Cup as a whole – have shown us that we really can’t rule teams out by how they look on paper.

Beau will be here shortly. In the meantime here’s Anita Asante’s look at what’s becoming a World Cup of the unexpected.