Pirlo was once again unable to call upon Cristiano Ronaldo, still in self-isolation after testing positive for coronavirus earlier this month, and Juventus struggled without their star forward.

They fell behind on the hour when Andrea Favilli ghosted into the area and fired into the top corner but Swedish midfielder Kulusevski cut in from the right and buried low beyond Verona goalkeeper Marco Silvestre.

Paulo Dybala and Adrien Rabiot rattled the frame of the goal as Juve went in search of a winner but they were ultimately left to settle for their third stalemate in five games this season.

Napoli moved up to second in the embryonic standings, behind leaders AC Milan, after coming from a goal down to win 2-1 at newly promoted Benevento.

A shock result was in the offing when the hosts took the lead on the half hour through Roberto Insigne, whose older brother Lorenzo levelled for Napoli after 61 minutes. Seven minutes later substitute Andrea Petagna scored the winner for Napoli.

Charalambos Lykogiannis, Giovanni Simeone, Riccardo Sottil and Joao Pedro were all on target as Cagliari made it back-to-back wins by seeing off 10-man Crotone 4-2.

Winless Crotone had taken the lead through Junior Messias before strikes from Lykogiannis and Simeone turned matters around. While Salvatore Molina levelled, they fell behind once more and their hopes of a comeback were dashed by Luca Cigarini’s dismissal.

Two goals from Gaetano Castrovilli, either side of Nikola Milenkovic’s strike, helped Fiorentina edge to a 3-2 win over Udinese, for whom Stefano Okaka bagged a brace.

Juraj Kucka’s last-gasp penalty rescued a 2-2 draw for Parma with Spezia, who went 2-0 up thanks to Julian Chabot and Kevin Agudelo but Riccardo Gagliolo halved the deficit before the late spot-kick drama.

Real Sociedad leapfrogged Real Madrid to the top of the LaLiga standings as Mikel Oyarzabal’s brace contributed towards a 4-1 victory over Huesca.

Oyarzabal struck either side of the interval – his first goal coming from the penalty spot – with Rafa Mir levelling in between. Cristian Portu gave Sociedad a two-goal cushion before Alexander Isak made certain of the points.

Angel Montoro’s penalty on the stroke of half time moved Granada into third place in the standings after a 1-0 triumph at Getafe, while Villarreal are in fourth after drawing a blank at Cadiz.

Second-half goals from Tomas Pina and Borja Sainz helped Alaves overcome Real Valladolid, whose 2-0 defeat was compounded by the early dismissal of full back Nacho.

Monaco were blown away in 45 minutes in Ligue 1 as Lyon coasted to a 4-1 victory.

Karl Toko Ekambi’s brace plus Memphis Depay’s goal and Houssem Aouar’s penalty helped Lyon into a 4-0 half-time lead, rendering Wissam Ben Yedder’s second-half spot kick a mere consolation.

Lyon had Melvin Bard sent off in the final throes but the result was never in doubt by that stage.

Lille were unable to move back above Paris St Germain and to the top of the table after being held to a 1-1 draw at Nice, who went ahead through Kasper Dolberg only to be pulled back by Burak Yilmaz.

Boulaye Dia scored a hat-trick as Reims collected their first win of the season by surprisingly brushing aside nine-man Montpellier 4-0. Hilton and Damien Le Tallec both saw red in the first half for Montpellier while Nathanael Mbuku scored the third goal.

Goals from Habib Diallo and Ludovic Ajorque either side of Kenny Lala’s penalty helped Strasbourg to a 3-0 win at Brest.

Farid Boulaya’s effort and Alpha Sissoko’s own goal gave Metz a 2-0 win over St Etienne while Bordeaux beat Nimes by the same scoreline courtesy of Jimmy Briand’s penalty and Remi Oudin’s strike.

Wolfsburg claimed their first three-point Bundesliga haul of the season as quick-fire goals from Wout Weghorst and Maximilian Arnold sealed a 2-1 success over Arminia Bielefeld, who pulled one back through substitute Sven Schipplock.

Maximilian Eggestein’s early goal for Werder Bremen was cancelled out by Hoffenheim midfielder Dennis Geiger as the sides settled for a 1-1 draw.

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On two occasions during the contest in Valenciennes, which England won 3-0, Cameroon remonstrated with the officials at length and looked as if they may not play on after VAR decisions went against them.

A Fifa spokesperson said on Wednesday: ‘Following the round-of-16 match between Cameroon and England on June 23 at the Fifa Women’s World Cup, we can confirm that proceedings have now been opened by the FIFA Disciplinary Committee against the Cameroonian Football Association for alleged breaches related to article 52 (team misconduct) and article 57 (offensive behaviour and fair play) of the FIFA Disciplinary Code.

‘As proceedings are now ongoing, please understand that no further comment can be made at this stage. Further updates will be provided in due course.’

The two moments of fierce protest from Cameroon where it appeared play might not be able to continue came just before half time, when the decision to rule out Ellen White’s finish for offside was overturned via VAR to make it 2-0, and just after the break, once again involving an offside call, as Ajara Nchout’s strike was disallowed following a review.

The ill-tempered game at the Stade du Hainaut also saw yellow cards issued to Cameroon’s Yvonne Leuko after catching Nikita Parris in the face with an elbow, and Alexandra Takounda for a poor challenge on Steph Houghton.

There was also an incident in which England’s Toni Duggan had her arm spat on by Augustine Ejangue.

After the match England boss Phil Neville said ‘It didn’t feel like football’ and spoke of feeling ‘completely and utterly ashamed of the behaviour’ of Cameroon.

Neville’s counterpart Alain Djeumfa said there had been a ‘miscarriage of justice’ and that ‘the referee made a lot of mistakes’.

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The African Women’s Player of the Year didn’t take long to make he mark in Paris as she fired her side into the lead with a stunning chip against Spain in Le Havre.

Things, however, then didn’t go to plan for Banyana as they conceded two penalties, while Nothando Vilakazi was also sent off – as Spain came from behind to win 3-1 and go top of Group B.

Kgatlana admitted after the game that while she is happy to have opened her account at the tournament, she is ultimately disappointed by the result.

‘It’s an amazing feeling for me to get my first goal in the World Cup, and one for the country because it’s our first time coming here.

‘However, I’m a little bit disappointed that we didn’t win the match based on two decisions from the VAR. There’s nothing we can do about it, it’s part of football and we have to adapt to it,’ she added.

The Banyana striker already seems to be growing int a crowd favourite in France and admitted that while it is nice, she is only focused on performing for my country.

‘It was amazing (to hear the fans cheer), but I’m here to play for the country and represent the team, and also to represent the people in the stadium. Even when they cheer me, I have to focus and do my job – everything else will come after.’

Banyana will next be up against China next week in Paris.

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South Africa came into their first ever World Cup encounter with no pressure with qualification itself considered a success already.

Spain on the other hand were the heavy favourites and the pressure would have been on to get off to a good start in a tough group which also includes China and Germany.

The Spanish side started on the front foot and placed Banyana under early pressure when Andile Dlamini was forced into a smart save after Mariona let fly just outside the box in the sixth minute.

The South Africans though did well to keep their shape and hold off their opposition while looking to hit on the counter. Desiree Ellis’ side then had their first sighter at goal in the 16th minute when Nothando Vilakazi’s free-kick deflected just over the crossbar.

Then in the 26th minute South Africa broke the deadlock, scoring their first ever World Cup goal. It was their star forward Thembi Kgatlana pick the ball up outside the box before curling her effort into the top corner leaving Spanish goalkeeper Sandra Panos stranded.

Spain then looked to push forward in search of a leveller but Dlamini was on her toes to produce another flying save on the stroke of half time to keep her team 1-0 up at the break.

The South Africans were under the pump from the onset in the second half and Ellis brought on defensive midfielder Busisiwe Ndimeni in place of attacker Linda Motlhalo to help in their defensive effort.

Spain though were handed a way back into the game when the referee adjudged captain Janine Van Wyk to have handled inside the area and pointed to the spot. Hermoso kept her cool and slotted past Dlamini to level matters in the 69th minute.

Disaster then struck eight minutes before time when Banyana conceded another controversial penalty when Nothando Dlamini caught Lucia Garcia on her groin with the follow through from a clearance, she received her second yellow card and therefore sent off after consultation with VAR where a penalty was also awarded.

Hermoso stepped up to double her tally and give Spain the lead.

The Europeans then sealed matters in the 89th minute when Garcia went through on the break before rounding Dlamini and tapping home into an empty net.
3-1 the final score as a brave Banyana suffer defeat in their first ever Fifa Women’s World Cup game.

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The South African Women’s national team will come up against the Spaniards in their opening fixture of the tournament, and the coach avers that the team is upbeat despite a few bad results in recent friendlies.

‘Two years of hard work, getting to qualify first and preparing from there on, now the moment is there, we had a couple of friendlies where we didn’t get good results,’ Ellis told SAFA.

‘In training the mood is high, the players are excited and we are practically there, getting ready for our first game against Spain, and that is going to be crucial for us.

‘We want to make sure through all our training that players understand what it is that they need to do on the field, because come game day it is all about them, we would have done our job, it is all about them putting everything together, supporting and encouraging each other on the field.

‘We are analysing Spain and they are obviously analysing us, at our previous game they had a whole entourage of people there.

‘It is our first World Cup, we are in a difficult group, but we know of what this team is capable,’ she concluded.

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Banyana will be participating in their first-ever World Cup after a second-place finish at the Women’s African Cup of Nations last year, where they only lost to Nigeria in a penalty shoot-out.

South Africa will open their campaign against Spain on 8 June in Le Havre, and will then have matches against China PR on 13 June, and Germany on 17 June in Paris and Montpellier respectively to conclude the group stages.

Ellis, Van Wyk and Dlamini all spoke of their pride leading South Africa to their first-ever World Cup and gave thanks to their lead sponsor Sasol for the send-off they received on Thursday morning at the company’s head office in Sandton.

Safa president Jordaan spoke of the side’s bonus structure for the tournament and about plans to host the showpiece event in 2023.

The Sasol building has erupted as @Banyana_Banyana have arrived for their #FIFAWWC send off! pic.twitter.com/u9vhIngRqh

— Dean Workman (@DeanoWorks) May 23, 2019

Watch Ellis’ full interview:

The party has started as we wait for the team to arrive! pic.twitter.com/Uxw3XjAgko

— Dean Workman (@DeanoWorks) May 23, 2019

Watch Van Wyk’s full interview:

@Banyana_Banyana captain @Janinevanwyk5 believes the team will make the country proud at the #FIFAWWC pic.twitter.com/vbOkFJaQ9a

— Dean Workman (@DeanoWorks) May 23, 2019

Watch Dlamini’s full interview:

“EFrance yila siyakhona.” @Banyana_Banyana goalkeeper @andile16sticks_ #SiyayaeFrance #DareToShine pic.twitter.com/H0c9hel5JH

— Busisiwe Mokwena, FIFA (@FIFAWWC_RSA) May 23, 2019

Watch Jordaan’s full interview:

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