VARmageddon; Nigeria hang on to goalless draw against favourites Canada after valiant penalty save

Nnadozie (in yellow) was arguably the point of difference; DeFodi Images

Melbourne, Australia; The curtain raiser for the second round of group stage matches saw Group B participants Nigeria go head to head with Canada in a gritty and hard fought 0-0 draw. The Melbourne Rectangular Stadium served as the colosseum to the contest, which saw Christine Sinclair of Canada denied from the penalty spot by Nigerian skipper Nnadozie, in what was an impressive defensive showing from the Super Falcons, who managed to take into flight on the counter. 

Canada, who are ranked 7th in the FIFA rankings were eager to start their campaign with a handful of three points and win the opening fixture of a World Cup for the third time running. They would keep that unbeaten record, but walk out of Melbourne with dashed expectations and a sole point. A litany of chances slipped by as the Canadians simply failed to land the killing blow. "This is tournament football." said Bev Priestman, the head coach for Canada, as he urged his players to "keep moving forward" and "stay calm". On Sinclair's penalty miss, he came to her defence; "She has scored goals after goals for the country.... they could be forgiving."

At the tail ends of both halves, however, Canada looked razor-sharp and intent on scoring an early goal. The 9th minute saw the Olympic champions conjure up some trickery; despite being marked closely, Adriana Leon effortlessly received a long ball out wide, and just twirled her way towards the box. The second part of the magic spell saw Ashley Lawrence drag Nigeria’s Osinachi Ohale with a dummy run, leaving Sinclair right outside the box with ample time and space to take a shot. She would miss, hands clasped around the mouth in anguish as the tie could’ve been settled then and there. 

Ever-reliant Sinclair (#12) missed two crucial chances; William West/Getty Images

Canada took it as a boost of confidence, and continued to probe the Nigerian defence, but they wouldn’t budge, resisting any sort of offence with physicality. And like a spring, they would burst out from their compact defensive shape, as seen in the 23rd minute with Oshoala squirming her way down the left wing, sending ripples of deafening cheers amongst the audience. Stop-start passing would eventually find Onumonu, who finally gave Sheridan, the Canadian goalie, her first test in the form of a long-range shot. Clearly unnerved by the questions Nigeria were posing, Sheridan would slip and leave an open goal while attempting to clear a long pass to Oshoala, who tried to slot it home at an acute angle only to be cleared away partially; Lawrence sacrificing her body to stop Ordega charging towards the loose ball. Canada continued their hunt for the first breakthrough, but Nnadozie was left relatively unchallenged, and half-time arrived in no time.

Lawrence (#10) with a crucial clearance; William West/Getty Images

Right after the break, Canada seemed to be back in business, and were immediately rewarded as Ordega’s mistimed challenge caught Sinclair out in the box, who was baffled with the referee’s indifference. But after some familiar VAR deliberation, the penalty was finally given, and it looked as good as done. Sinclair, however, was denied yet again, as Nnadozie’s heroic save sent the stadium into delirium, the Nigerians celebrating as if they scored a goal; although they knew best the importance of the single point they were holding onto. Canada remained relentless, as Lacasse’s long-range effort was saved shortly after in the 66th minute, but the loose ball was quickly dispatched to substitute Viens for a much better chance close to goal; Nnadozie remained unchallenged. 

Nnadozie (in yellow) triumphant after stunning penalty save; William West/Getty Images

Some instances of Nigerian counter attack were sprinkled in; a curling free kick in the 74th minute would fail to meet the first header, and subsequent shots at goals kept getting blocked. The stadium would erupt again in the 80th minute when Payne redirected a long ball right in the path of Onumonu bursting down the left wing in acres of space; a low cross would find substitute Kanu to yield a poor finish right into Sheridan. By that time, Onumonu was ruled offside anyways. Canada would gather every single bit of grit to unleash in the last minutes, including an off-target header for Huitema in the 96th minute. As the clock ticked down, Lawrence cut inside rapidly from the right wing, but Abiodun, looking to close in, sent Lawrence clutching her foot in a nasty tackle. What first appeared like a yellow card, was upgraded to a red after a VAR review, and thus arrived fulltime.

Abiodun’s lapse of timing costs her big; Elsa/Getty Images

The Super Falcons were teeming with delight, tremendously content with walking out with a point in what would normally be a dreaded fixture. Canada, on the other hand would be haunted, for at least some days by all those chances left on the table. Group B has been left wide open, and in traditional World Cup fashion, we might witness an unexpected side progress into the knockout stages. At whose expense though, no one knows.