Reigning Ballon d’Or Aitana Bonmati scored one goal and helped create another as World Cup holders Spain came from behind to beat Japan 2-1 in their first game of the Paris Olympics women’s football tournament on Thursday.
Spain are making their Olympic women’s football debut at the Paris Games but are leading contenders to win the gold medal after their World Cup triumph in Australia and New Zealand last year.
They fell behind against Japan in the western French city of Nantes to Aoba Fujino’s early free-kick, but Bonmati soon equalised before Mariona Caldentey netted the winner in the 74th minute.
It is the perfect start for Spain in Group C of the Paris Olympics’ women’s football, in which rivals Nigeria and Brazil meet later.
With 12 teams split into three groups of four, there is margin for error as the two best third-placed teams will advance to the quarter-finals.
That will provide some comfort for Japan, who won the silver medal at London 2012.
Spain’s starting XI featured seven players who were in the line-up for last year’s World Cup final win over England in Sydney, plus Alexia Putellas, the two-time former Ballon d’Or winner.
Japan’s side included Hinata Miyazawa, the top scorer at the World Cup, but it was Fujino who opened the scoring in the 13th minute with a fine strike from a dead ball which proved too powerful for goalkeeper Cata Coll.
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However, Spain bossed possession and drew level midway through the first half when Bonmati was played in by Athenea del Castillo and rounded the goalkeeper to score.
They then grabbed what proved to be the winner when Caldentey came in from the left and played a quick exchange of passes with Bonmati before firing in.
Meanwhile, reigning Olympic champions Canada shrugged off a spying scandal to come from behind and start their campaign with a 2-1 win over New Zealand in Saint-Etienne.
Mackenzie Barry gave New Zealand the lead before an embarrassingly sparse crowd at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, the same venue where the men’s game between Argentina and Morocco was affected by crowd trouble on Wednesday.
However, Arsenal’s Cloe Lacasse levelled in first-half stoppage time for Canada, who beat Sweden on penalties in the final in Tokyo three years ago.
Evelyne Viens then latched onto a long ball forward to fire in the winner 11 minutes from the end.
Canada’s build-up had been overshadowed after an assistant coach and an analyst were sent home from the Olympics on the eve of their opening game.
The analyst, 43-year-old Joey Lombardi, was also given a suspended eight-month prison sentence for flying a drone over a New Zealand training session this week in Saint-Etienne.
Lombardi pleaded guilty when he appeared in court in Saint-Etienne on Wednesday.
The assistant coach was Jasmine Mander, to whom Lombardi reported.
Head coach Bev Priestman apologised and decided to take no part in the game against New Zealand as a result because she felt it would not be appropriate.
Canada and New Zealand are in Group A along with hosts France and Colombia, who meet later in Lyon.
Record four-time gold medallists the United States meet Zambia later in Group B, which also sees Germany take on Australia.
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