Hannah Wilkinson yesterday scored the only goal as cohosts New Zealand recorded a historic 1-0 victory over Norway in the opening game of the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
It was the nation’s first-ever win at the World Cup and came in front of more than 42,000 in Auckland, the biggest crowd in New Zealand soccer history.
It capped a day which started when New Zealand’s largest city was shaken in the morning by a shooting which left two victims and the gunman dead, the incident happening in a downtown area close to where several World Cup teams, including Norway, are staying.
Photo: AFP
New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins attended the match alongside FIFA president Gianni Infantino at Eden Park, where a moment’s silence was held in memory of those killed.
The Football Ferns, who are cohosting the first 32-team Women’s World Cup along with Australia, were not overawed by the occasion as they went on to claim a deserved success thanks to Wilkinson’s early second-half goal.
New Zealand had not won any of their 15 previous matches across five previous appearances at the tournament and had set ending that dreadful record as their modest objective.
They duly did so against the former World Cup winners, to the delight of a near sell-out crowd of 42,137 fans, a national record for any soccer match in the nation, men’s or women’s.
Their margin of victory on a cold, wet and windy evening would even have been greater had Ria Percival not missed a late penalty.
Wearing all black at the home of the nation’s all-conquering rugby union team, New Zealand had been the better side in the first half without creating anything to seriously trouble Norway goalkeeper Aurora Mikalsen.
The breakthrough came three minutes after halftime when Jacqui Hand’s low ball into the penalty area from the right was swept into the net by Wilkinson, the striker based in Australia.
The game opened up as Norway, world champions in 1995, went looking for an equalizer and Frida Maanum somehow missed the target from a promising position.
Tuva Hansen came closest to equalizing with a long-range strike that was tipped onto the bar by New Zealand goalkeeper Victoria Esson and it was Hansen’s handball that was then penalized following a video assistant referee review late on, but Percival hit the bar from the resulting 90th-minute penalty.
In the opening match in Group B in Sydney, cohosts Australia defeated the Republic of Ireland 1-0 with a goal from the penalty spot by Steph Catley in front of a crowd of 75,784 fans.
The Matildas star player Sam Kerr did not start the match due to a calf injury.
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