Womens' Football Losing The Gap, But It's Not All Down To FIFA
In the 92nd minute of South Africa's drawn FIFA Women's World Cup match against football giant Italy, striker Hilda Magaia runs onto a pass at the top of the box. Magaia, who scored her country's first ever Women's World Cup goal a week earlier, springs past three lunging Italian defenders and curls the ball in to find Thembi Kgatlana, who blasts the ball into the net. South Africa, in its first Women's World Cup, is through to the round of 16. It is perhaps the most striking upset result of this World Cup, but far from the only one: Nigeria beating co-host Australia, Colombia's last-minute winner against Germany, Portugal holding the United States to a draw and Jamaica advancing at the expense of Brazil are signs of the closing gap in women's football that pundits are noticing.
