Colombia produced the first true shocking result of the 2015 Women’s World Cup with a 2-0 win over France in New Brunswick, but it didn’t come without controversy.
Lady Andrade struck for Colombia in the 19th minute, and the 28th-ranked team had an early lead over the world’s 3rd-ranked French side.
In the 66th minute, the controversy came to a head with Eugenie Le Sommer seemingly through on goal. Under pressure, Colombian midfielder Daniela Montoya used her arm to swat the ball out of the air and clear of the net, and while a clear penalty and red card should have been called, the referee called nothing.
As France poured on the pressure, racking up 22 shots - but only six on goal - the Colombians maintained composed at the back. With France pushed well forward and time running out, Colombia hit on the break and substitute Catalina Usme put the game away in stoppage time.
Colombia had a 6% chance to defeat France, according to @FiveThirtyEight's Women's Soccer Power Index.
— Paul Carr (@PaulCarr) June 13, 2015
The upset is a huge one for Colombia to put them atop Group F with four points, but the loss for France isn’t a devastating blow. They still sit in second just a point back after their opening win against England. In addition, finishing second in the group could potentially be a blessing in disguise for France, who would end up avoiding an early knockout round matchup with Germany, and instead could get Canada and Norway.