South Africa was less than a half-hour from its first ever Women's World Cup win with a two-goal cushion, but Argentina didn't go away.
The two lower-ranked teams in Group G played to a 2-0 draw that saw Argentina erase a 2-0 lead in the second half. The Banyana Banyana, ranked No. 54 in the world by FIFA, at least recorded their first World Cup point after losing three straight in their first appearance in 2019 and falling 2-1 to Sweden in the first tournament opener, but they were on the verge of so much more.
South Africa's first goal was a weird one. Thembi Kgatlana ran downfield after her team intercepted a pass and looked so clearly offside, Argentina didn't take her attack seriously. Both defenders near her raised their arms and didn't start running for a moment, leading to an impossibly easy goal for Linda Motlhalo.
VAR, however, noticed one Argentina defender who had been running forward didn't quite cross Kgatlana until after the ball was on the way, giving South Africa first blood.
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