New Zealand stun Norway in Women's World Cup opener, beat them 1-0 in front of record crowd
Hannah Wilkinson scored the only goal as co-hosts New Zealand registered a historic 1-0 win over Norway in the opening game of the Women's World Cup on Thursday. It was the country's first-ever victory at the tournament and came in front of more than 42,000 spectators in Auckland, the biggest crowd in New Zealand football history.
It came at the end of a day which started when New Zealand's largest city was shaken in the morning by a shooting which left two people and the gunman dead, the incident happening in a downtown area close to where several World Cup teams, including Norway, were staying.
The host country's 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.
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The Football Ferns, who are co-hosting the first 32-team Women's World Cup 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 this time.
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 football match in the country, 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.
Qualifying for the knockout stages from Group A is now a realistic aim, with Switzerland and minnows the Philippines being
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