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 A day after the Ivory Coast were humiliated 10-0 by Germany, Nigeria
and Cameroon restored African pride while Japan opened the defense
of their title in Vancouver with a 1-0 win over Switzerland courtesy
of a 29th minute strike from Aya Miyama.
Cameroon, who were making their first World Cup appearance, looked
right at home on soccer's biggest stage as Gaelle Enganamouit score
a hat-trick to lead the 53rd ranked Les Lionnes to a 6-0 victory
over South American debutant Ecuador.
Nigeria and Sweden, who have appeared in all seven women's World
Cups, experienced some first up jitters in Winnipeg with Francisca
Ordega grabbing a late equalizer for the Africans to earn a 3-3 draw
in the so called 'Group of Death'.
No nation will face a tougher road to the final than those in Group
D, which features three teams ranked in the top 10, the U.S. (2),
Sweden (5), Australia (10) and the 33rd-ranked Nigerians, who are
the top African nation.
The first appearance by the U.S. created an electric atmosphere as
fans flooded across the border, filling Winnipeg Stadium with a
boisterous red, white and blue flag-waving crowd.
The American Outlaws, a U.S. supporters group, turned the north
grandstand into a swath of red, white and blue with chants of "USA,
USA" echoing through the stadium from the moment the players
appeared from the tunnel.
With U.S. based in Winnipeg, American supporters have taken over the
downtown area with groups filling restaurants and pubs bringing a
lively buzz to the tournament that has been lacking in some of the
other five venues.
"A couple of players, I heard them as they were taking the pitch for
warm-ups say, 'it's like we're playing at home'," said U.S. coach
Jill Ellis.
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"It was tremendous, they were behind us, the Outlaws were there and
friends and family but there were fans, just fans of soccer it was
great to have that kind of noise and support."
The U.S. did their part as they extended their unbeaten run over the
Matildas to 25 games as Megan Rapinoe scored twice and keeper Hope
Solo produced some dazzling early saves.
The victory set up an intriguing showdown with former coach Pia
Sundhage's Swedish side on Friday.
Sundhage had spent five years with the U.S. team, leading them to
two Olympic gold medals and a runner-up finish in the 2011 World
Cup, before she returned to coach her native Sweden.
(Editing by Greg Stutchbury)
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