Argentina's players grew emotional and celebrated after getting their first World Cup points ever in a 0-0 draw with Japan, one of the World Cup favorites
- The Argentina women's national team got their first point in any World Cup on Monday with a 0-0 draw against Japan.
- After the match, the players grew emotional and hugged, celebrating as if they had won.
- Argentina's women's team has had a tortured history in the World Cup and nearly collapsed after they stopped receiving funding in 2015, making any point this year a significant victory.
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Argentina's women's national team scored a big win at the 2019 Women's World Cup on Monday, even if it didn't include any goals.
Argentina finished their first match in a 0-0 draw with Japan, one of the World Cup favorites.
Read more: Women's World Cup Power Ranking: Where all 24 teams stand at the start of the tournament
The result marks a big moment for Argentina's women's team, who got a point for the draw, their first in any World Cup tournament.
After the match, players celebrated as if they had won, hugging and growing emotional on the field.
The difference in reactions between Argentina's players and one of Japan's players is stark.
Argentina's women's team has had a tortured World Cup history. In the 2005 World Cup, they lost 11-0 to Germany, and they have a -31 goal differential on the World Cup stage.
As Deadspin's Luis Paez-Pumar explained, after the 2015 Pan-Am games, Argentina's soccer federation stopped funding the women's team for nearly two years. The team was eventually rebuilt but still struggled with late pay and unpaid travel expenses, according to Paez-Pumar.
As soccer writer Sandra Herrera noted, Argentina wasn't even listed as an active team by FIFA in 2015.
Given that the team is relatively new, even a single point via a draw is a big win. Wrote Paez-Pumar:
"Should Argentina lose with dignity to England and Japan, and then snatch up a point against Scotland, they will have had a creditable tournament. Even earning a single point in the tournament would be the Albicelestes' best finish at a World Cup ever."
FiveThirtyEight gave Argentina just a 15% chance to advance to the knockout stage at the start of the tournament. Those odds have already increased to 29% with a point now in their pockets. Perhaps a miracle run is in store, and even if not, it's already been a successful World Cup for Argentina.
- Read more:
- A German teenager scored an extraordinary long-range goal on her Women's World Cup debut
- Why the best women's soccer player in the world won't be at the World Cup
- Women's World Cup 2019: Everything you need to know before the tournament kicks off in Paris