Argentina foil Japan; Roord late goal sees Netherlands pip Kiwis

In a day of defense against attack, Canada found the goal they needed to beat Cameroon, but Argentina frustrated Japan and accumulated a first point in the Women's World Cup.

In Paris, Argentina restricted Japan, finalists in the last two World Cups, to three dangerous opportunities without creating a clear goal opportunity, since the game ended in the first draw without goals from the competition and only the seventh in the history of the competition.

The result leaves both teams at one point in Group D, behind England that beat Scotland on Sunday. When the whistle blew at Paris Saint-Germain's Parc des Princes stadium, Argentina's substitutes jumped out of the bank to join the players on the field and finally got a World Cup point on the seventh attempt.

"This point is very important for us, I think we can reflect on what Argentina is and what it means as a team," said Estefania Banini, the captain of Argentina who was chosen as the player of the match.

Banini, short, left-handed and with the number 10, has inevitably been nicknamed the Lionel Messi woman, but in terms of its structure and style is more like another Argentine southpaw, Diego Maradona.

He was tenacious with and without the ball and the two yellow cards of the first half went to the hard Japanese challenges of the Argentine captain.

Japan played more urgently in the second half, pushing Argentina back. After 50 minutes, Kumi Yokoyama's 35-meter run attracted Vanina Correa. The ball ran towards Yuki Sugasawa, who exploded from close range.

As the group stage only eliminates eight of the 24 teams, the draw leaves Japan and Argentina needing a win in their next two games. Both will need to find a way to dial.

In the last game in Montpellier, Cameroon, playing his second World Cup, he also prepared to defend in the first game of Group E.

Canada fought with their shots and only managed to overcome a set just before halftime. Defender Kadeisha Buchanan arrived late to meet a corner at the far post and bounced a header past Annette Ngo Ndom on the Cameroon goal. It was Buchanan's fourth international goal. Three have been directed.

Veteran Canadian forward Christine Sinclair, who needs four more goals to overtake American Abby Wambach as the top scorer in international women's football, had a particularly difficult night against the goal.

The other two teams in the group, the Netherlands and New Zealand, will meet in Le Havre on Tuesday.

Jill Roord left the bank and headed home Tuesday to give the Netherlands a 1-0 victory at the New Zealand World Cup over New Zealand in Le Havre.

The victory elevates the European champions to a draw with Canada at the top of Group E.

The ferns of football, robust in defense and sharp in the counterattack, were left with nothing but disappointment.

The stars of a live match were the two goalkeepers, Sari van Veenendaal for the Netherlands and Erin Nayler of New Zealand. Both were busy and both, in different stages, were subjected to a treatment in the field after a courageous rescue.

The Dutch dominated possession and goal attempts, but New Zealand created three dangerous opportunities. In the first half, Olivia Chance hit the bar and Rosie White made a great shot from Van Veenendaal with a long range attack.

Early in the second half, Sarah Gregorius, who is of Dutch descent, made a volley on the ground that gave Van Veenendaal time to throw himself to his right and grab the ball around the post.

At the other end, central defenders Rebekah Stott and Abby Erceg handled well the physical presence of Dutch forward Vivianne Miedema and the vivid skills of the attackers around her.

When the Dutch had a clear opportunity, they were frustrated by Nayler or by some anxious end, until the final moments.

The Dutch turned one more cross towards the far post, where Lineth Beerensteyn defended Ali Riley with a header through the goal and Arsenal's Roord guided the ball past Nayler's advance.