Women’s World Cup: Argentina come from behind to rescue point against South Africa

Argentina came from two goals down to earn a draw against South Africa at the Women’s World Cup.

South Africa were on the verge of earning their first ever World Cup win but late goals from Sophia Braun and Romina Nunez denied them.

Glasgow City winger Linda Motlhalo had earlier given South Africa the lead when she broke through the Argentina defence, before Thembi Kgatlana finished from Jermaine Seoposenwe’s pass.

South Africa could have had more in the first half too. Motlhalo struck narrowly wide before a few missed chances fell to Kgatlana.

“That’s the problem – we don’t take our chances. It comes back to haunt us every time,” said South Africa boss Desiree Ellis.

“How many chances did we create? How many final third entries did we have that we did not complete? We were in complete control of the game and we just needed to finish it off.

“We lost the ball a lot in certain areas. It’s criminal. It hurts a lot. We have to take responsibility – it has to be better.

“That was a great opportunity to put us a step ahead [in the group] but it is not all lost. We have put ourselves in this position by not taking our chances.”

The draw means that all four teams could still qualify from Group G. Argentina now need to produce a shock victory against third-ranked Sweden on Wednesday, with South Africa face Italy.

Italy and Sweden meet tomorrow with a place in the second round up for grabs for the winner.

Cover Photo: South African flag, Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape, South Africa” by flowcomm is licensed under CC BY 2.0 .