Morocco beat South Korea to earn first-ever FIFA Women’s World Cup win

Adelaide (Australia) (IANS) — Debutants Morocco on Sunday stunned South Korea 1-0 to claim their first-ever victory at the FIFA Women’s World Cup, here.

A diving header from striker Ibtissam Jraidi in the sixth minute broke the deadlock for Morocco, which is the team’s first-ever goal at the World Cup.

South Korea, the 2022 Asian Cup finalists, had fewer shots on target despite their dominance in possession. The second straight loss put them on the brink of elimination from the tournament, a Xinhua report said.

Morocco, who were humiliated 6-0 by Germany in their first group game, now have three points.

Group favourites Germany will play against Colombia later on Sunday. Both sides have three points now.

The 2023 Women’s World Cup, hosted jointly by Australia and New Zealand from July 20 to August 20, will see only the top two teams from each of the eight groups progress to the round of 16.

This marks the inaugural instance of the women’s football’s premier tournament expanding to a 32-team format.