It's 10:21 PM in Auckland on July 20, and the opening match of the Women's World Cup is in the books. (For some of the games, dates are going to get confusing given that most of you are on the other side of the world, so we just won't worry too much about dates.)
The opening match was absolutely everything one could want in an opening match: an upset, a win for the host nation, a 1-0 game, many a heart-stopping near-goal in the closing minutes, a team's first WWC win, and 99 minutes of outstanding soccer!
The match was scheduled for 7:00 PM, with the opening ceremony starting at 6:30. We were staying at an AirBNB in the heart of Auckland downtown, so we hopped on a bus and got to the stadium in plenty of tie for the opening. We were just a few rows away from Mike and Teresa Olson, fellow WWC afficionados. I am accompanied during the group stage by Berkeley Bruiser Kerstin Pfann and WWC-2019 veteran Chloe Lemmel-Hay. Unfortunately, changes in travel plans resulted in our having 1 seat separated from the other two. Kerstin and I were together in the second row directly across from the edge of the Norway bench.
The opening match featured 26th ranked host New Zealand against 12th ranked Norway. The crowd was unsurprisingly full of New Zealand supporters, but we all knew who the favorites were. However, it took only a few minutes to see that this was not going to be a match that Norway dominated. The first half showed a physical Norway being dominated by incredibly well-orchestrated team play.
The first half saw several aggressive plays from Norway sent NZ players tumbling. While the fans were convinced there were fouls being committed, the ref had none of that, and I have to confess that I was pretty sure NZ had been robbed on the plays that happened far away. But when the incidents happened right in front of me, I found myself agreeing with the ref, so I'm going to say it was a well-reffed game.
The two teams fought to a 0-0 half time tie.
And then ... just 3 minutes into the second half, New Zealand put together a well orchestrated (and I'm going to guess, well practiced) sequence: starting with a goal kick that a defender took (rarely see that in world cup soccer), two quick passes up the field, a cross and beautiful show from Hannah Wilkinson, put the Ferns up 1-0. For the next 20 minutes or so, it really was New Zealand's show. Norway was having difficult receiving their own passes, their goal kicks were as likely to be collected by the Ferns as their own players, and the Ferns continued to look threatening.
To be fair, there were a couple of heart stopping near-misses from Norway as well. As time wore down, Norway started asserting themselves and began repeatedly threatening the New Zealand back line. A couple of brilliant moves stole the ball away from them just a few yards in front of the goal. And then, after the 80th minute, play stopped. The VAR called for a penalty check. Time stood still (or so it seemed, that incessant clock kept ticking). And then ... handball in the box! The replay showed that it was most definitely a hand ball, but having to decide whether it was in the box or not was nontrivial.
NZ stepped up for the PK and ... it hit the crossbar. This near miss was just what Norway needed. They started pressing and attacking and attacking and attacking. I couldn't really count, but I'd say that at least a third of their shots happend in the nine minutes of stoppage time. They hit the crossbar; they forced a pair of goalie saves. But alas, they could not buy a goal, and when the final whistle blew, New Zealand had won their first world cup match ever!
Every four years, the level of play in the tournament improve, and if tonight's match was any indication, it's going to be fantastic tournament!
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