Football
2023 FIFA Women's World Cup Kicks Off with Early Wins for Australia & New Zealand
by privatebet.com - 2023/07/21
The FIFA Women's World Cup kicked off with a bang on Thursday and delivered several epic moments on the very first day. Host countries New Zealand and Australia were on top of their game and scored early wins in their first matches of the group stage. Following the tournament’s opening ceremony, which paid homage to the Maori people of New Zealand and the First Nations people of Australia, New Zealand played the first match of the tournament against Norway. The energy of the home crowd in Auckland carried them to an unexpected win, and they defeated their opponent 1-0 thanks to Hannah Wilkinson’s lone goal. Australia also came out victorious in their game against the Republic of Ireland, after Steph Catley’s penalty gave them a 1-0 lead. As for the rest of the matches, the face-off between Canada and Nigeria resulted in a draw, while Switzerland easily defeated the Philippines 2-0, thanks to Ramona Bachmann and Seraina Piubel. The 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup is jointly hosted by Australia and New Zealand, and it’s the first-ever edition of this tournament with two host nations. It’s also the first time in history that 32 teams will be competing for the title, and the winner will be determined in the final on August 20, taking place at Sydney Olympic Stadium.