WEEKLY WHINE

Insistence

So, we have now seen the first four matches of the 2015 Women’s World Cup. Clearly, some teams have separated themselves from the pack. Other teams have also done that, but in the other direction.

But there was actually much more to these matches that you might not have seen. Did you catch all of it?

CANADA 01-00 CHINA PR

What you saw: Christine Sinclair scored the winner on a stoppage time penalty.

What you missed: The celebrations across Canada were visible from space. But no worries. You’ll get your chance to see them in Chris Hadfield’s next music video.

NEW ZEALAND 00-01 NETHERLANDS

What you saw: Lieke Martens scored the only goal in the first half.

What you missed: A healthy portion of fans in Edmonton stuck around after Canada’s match for this one. Why? The Oilers were not in the Stanley Cup final.

NORWAY 04-00 THAILAND

What you saw: Thailand had an opportunity to take an early lead, but Silawan Intamee missed a sitter just a few yards out from goal.

What you missed: The miss was not due to first appearance jitters. It was due to the artificial turf. At least, that’s what Intamee told everyone who was willing to listen, plus quite a few people who were not willing to listen.

GERMANY 10-00 CÔTE D’IVOIRE

What you saw: Germany scoring a great many goals.

What you missed: Ivoirian keeper Dominique Thiamale made seven saves. You had no idea, didn’t you? You just watched the match and said, “Ooh, look at all those goals”. You completely failed to pay attention to the goalkeeper. Well, if Thiamale continues to play like that, Côte d’Ivoire will have a nonzero chance of reaching the round of sixteen. Of course, it would still be infinitesimal, what with that goal difference.