New Zealand wins the opening match of the Women's World Cup 2023
* Score: Wilkinson 48'
Before 2023, New Zealand football had never won at the Men's and Women's World Cup finals. Their men's team has only participated in the World Cup twice, have not won a match and stopped from the group stage. New Zealand women also achieved similar results, despite participating in the World Cup five times.
The 1-0 victory over Norway at Eden Park, Auckland today 20/7 helps New Zealand football make history, and gives hope for their women's team to surpass the group stage when hosting this year's World Cup. .
Before kick-off, the two teams observed a minute of silence in memory of the victims of the shootings in Auckland city on the same morning. New Zealand showed determination when the player pressed all over the field, successfully dividing the Norwegian midfield with the Golden Ball-winning striker Ada Hegerberg. On the attack, the striker Hannah Wilkinson independently fought well, making the opponent's defense difficult.
Early in the second half, New Zealand counterattacked quickly on the right. Jaqqueline Hand sped up and then stretched to let Wilkinson finish close to open the score. Norway tried to rise up, but could not coordinate the approach to the home goal. In contrast, New Zealand was awarded a penalty in the 90th minute when Hansen let the ball touch his hand in the penalty area. However, captain Ria Percival hit the crossbar, missed the opportunity to widen the gap.
Referee Yoshimi Yamashita informed 42,137 spectators at Eden Park about the decision to blow the penalty after consulting VAR. This is a new test by FIFA to increase transparency in the decision of the referee and the VAR team.
In 11 minutes of compensation, Norway put all their efforts into attacking to find an equalizer, but the home team of coach Jitka Klimkova still stood firm, successfully defending the score 1-0 until the end of time. With this historic victory, New Zealand leads Group A, before meeting the Philippines in the second match on July 25.
