Posted at 4:50 a.m., Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Soccer: Late goal helps Nigeria tie Sweden, 1-1
Associated Press
CHENGDU, China — Cynthia Uwak's goal in the 82nd minute lifted Nigeria to a 1-1 draw with favored Sweden in an opening game of Group B of the women's World Cup today.Uwak pounced on a failed clearing attempt and her shot from 20 yards out beat Sweden goalkeeper Hedvig Lindahl.
Victoria Svensson's goal in the 50th minute gave Sweden a 1-0 lead, which seemed it would be enough for the victory. Taking a pass, Svensson broke in alone on goalie Precious Dede and scored from 10 yards out.
The draw in Group B leaves all four teams with one point. The United States and North Korea drew 2-2 in the other Group B game Tuesday.
Sweden dominated the first half and came close to scoring twice.
In the second minute, top striker Hanna Ljungberg hit the crossbar. In the 34th, Svensson also hit the bar. The rebound came down on the goal line, with TV replays showing it failed to cross the line.
The Nigerians posed little threat for most of the game with the Swedes dominating possession and overall shots, but pressed forward more in the last 10 minutes and came up with the tying goal.
Group B is regarded as the toughest in the 16-team World Cup, with the top two teams advancing to meet the qualifiers from Group A, where Germany is the favorite.
