Norway Feels Loss in Tie With Brazil

A miraculous last-minute goal produced one of the most stunning results in the history of women’s soccer.

Pretinha’s second goal, a deflected shot that sailed just over the arms of goalkeeper Bente Nordby in the 90th minute, gave Brazil a 2-2 tie with world champion Norway at RFK Stadium in Washington D.C.

Given a feed from Roseli, the forward’s shot was blocked by Nina Andersen, causing the ball to float just under the crossbar to tie the score.

After the final whistle, Brazil, which only got into the tournament when England could not participate, celebrated wildly, while the Norwegians stalked around the field in disgust.

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Goals by Shi Guihong and Zhao Lihong within a two-minute span helped China win, 2-0, in a first-round match at Miami.

Shi beat goalkeeper Annelie Nilsson from the right side in the 30th minute for China’s first score. About two minutes later, Zhao dribbled across the center of the penalty box and volleyed from the left side, putting the ball in the upper-right corner.

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Heidi Mohr’s persistent attacking finally paid off with a goal in the 62nd minute as Germany beat Japan, 3-2, before about 30,000 at Birmingham, Ala. It marked the first women’s soccer game in Olympic history.