Olympics begin with Sweden beating South Africa in soccer

It was settled by veteran defender Nilla Fischer opening her third Olympics by scoring in the 75th minute.

Sweden opened the Olympic women’s football tournament with a 1-0 win over South Africa in front of vast swathes of empty seats at the 60,000 capacity Estádio Olímpico João Havelange in Rio de Janeiro.

Although the opening ceremony takes place on Friday, the football competitions begin ahead of time with six women’s matches on Wednesday and eight men’s games on Thursday.

South Africa’s goalkeeper Roxanne Barker then produced a stunning save from a venomous Schelin effort, which looked to be flying into the top corner before the Heerenveen stopper intervened.

Holders and top-ranked side the United States play New Zealand at night in Belo Horizonte. As a sophomore with the Bulldogs, her first season at Samford, Seoposenwe led the team with 13 assists and scored nine goals, which ranked second on the squad.

Despite Sweden’s dominance in the first half, the score remained goalless as the sides entered the halftime break. Other protesters are demanding improvements in education and healthcare, with some angered by the 39.1 billion Brazilian reals ($12 billion) – a mix of public and private money – being spent on building venues and infrastructure for the Olympics.

A rough start to Rio for the South Africans.

“It is a great feeling to have a big crowd, but today for us it was only about football, winning 1-0, and moving forward”, said Sweden coach Pia Sundhage in response to the paltry attendance.

Sweden is playing in the same group as host nation Brazil, with China being the fourth nation in the group.

2015 World Cup quarter-finalists Canada and Australia complete a busy first day of action in Sao Paulo.