Saved penalty leads Nigeria to draw with Canada at Women's World Cup

Nigeria's Chiamaka Nnadozie, left, clears the ball before Canada's Christine Sinclair, right, during the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023 soccer match between Nigeria and Canada at Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, Melbourne, Australia, July 21. EPA-Yonhap

Chiamaka Nnadozie saved a penalty kick by Canadian captain Christine Sinclair in the 50th minute, and Nigeria emerged with a surprising 0-0 draw against Canada on Friday at the Women's World Cup in Melbourne, Australia.

The game was the opener for both teams in Group B. Australia tops the group after beating the Republic of Ireland 1-0 on Thursday.

Canada, which captured the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, is ranked seventh in the world by FIFA. Nigeria is ranked 40th.

Canada's Cloe Lacasse, left, is in action with Nigeria's Deborah Abiodun during the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023 soccer match between Nigeria and Canada at Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, Melbourne, Australia, July 21. Reuters-Yonhap

Nigeria ended the game with 10 players after Deborah Abiodun received a red card deep in second-half stoppage time for a late, high challenge on the shin of Ashley Lawrence.

The key moment in the game came early in the second half. After a video review, Francisca Ordega was ruled to have fouled Sinclair in the penalty area. Nnadozie dived to her left and knocked away Sinclair's low penalty kick.

Sinclair, 40, was attempting to become the first player ― male or female ― ever to score in six World Cup tournaments. She is the all-time leader ― male or female ― in international goals with 190. (Reuters)