New Zealand v Norway as it happened: Football Ferns make history
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Live commentary
Read our match report of the action and check out the final match stats from a tense, but rewarding night for co-hosts New Zealand in Auckland.
FULL-TIME: New Zealand 1-0 Norway
New Zealand hold on to make history against Norway, winning their first-ever Women's World Cup match after failing to do so in their previous 15 attempts.
Wilkinson's second-half strike was the difference but it could have been more comfortable if Percival dispatched her penalty, but the co-hosts will not care about that!
90+8 - Chance for Norway. Reiten picks up a loose ball in the penalty area but is unable to unleash a clean strike as her effort trickles wide. Norway running out of time now.
90+4 - New Zealand make another chance as Hand is taken off for Rennie.
90+1 - Norway have plenty of time to grab something from this as the fourth official adds nine minutes onto the end of this.
90 - PENALTY MISSED! Percival misses the chance to seal the win for New Zealand as her spot kick comes back off the crossbar. Norway are still alive here.
87 - PENALTY NEW ZEALAND! Another VAR check for a penalty and again it's for handball. It struck Tuva Hansen's hand, which looked in an abnormal position!
86 - First yellow card of the game is brought out for Haavi for stopping a New Zealand attack.
Meanwhile, goalscorer Wilkinson is substituted to a superb ovation from the crowd as Satchell comes on to see the rest of the game out.
82 - Off the bar! That's the closest Norway have come to equalising. Tuva Hansen fires a shot from distance but Esson does enough to push it onto the frame.
76 - Wilkinson is causing Norway plenty of problems again and picks out Percival, whose clean strike is just wide of the mark.
75 - Norway make their second chance as Maanum is withdrawn for Risa. Could that earlier miss be a costly one for Norway?
70 - New Zealand make their first switch as Stott is replaced by Bunge. Twenty minutes of time to go.
63 - Indiah-Page Riley nearly doubles New Zealand's lead after cutting inside and aiming for the top corner, but Mikalsen is equal to it to put it out for a corner with an excellent save.
59 - What a miss! That should have been the equaliser for Norway through Maanum but she puts her effort wide from just a few yards out.
56 - Norway are looking for a response here and they make a change. Blakstad is replaced by forward Haavi.
53 - There could be more for New Zealand here as a VAR check is in progress for a potential penalty for handball…
…but nothing doing as replays show Harviken cannot get her hand out of the way of Wilkinson's close-range shot.
48 - GOAL! New Zealand 1-0 Norway
Auckland erupts as New Zealand open the scoring! Some excellent work by a combination of Bott, Riley and Hand, who then finds Wilkinson in the middle to tap home. What a moment for the World Cup co-hosts.
46 - Back underway for the second half. Norway get the match restarted.
Here are the stats after the first half in Auckland.
45 - HALF-TIME: New Zealand 0-0 Norway
End of the opening period in Auckland and World Cup co-hosts New Zealand will be encouraged by that performance. Chances have been fairly limited for both sides, but that sets up an open second half.
44 - New Zealand nearly grab an opener through Wilkinson who steams through but Bjelde comes across to put one out for a corner.
44 - Still little to split both teams as half-time in Auckland approaches.
37 - What a tackle by Stott! Hansen cuts the ball back for Hegerberg who looked destined to open the scoring for Norway, but Stott is able to get across to make an excellent challenge.
32 - New Zealand launch a free kick into the box which Wilkinson meets and guides into a decent area, but none of her teammates are able to connect.
20 - Likely the best chance of the game so far and it comes for Norway. Blakstad finds Hegerberg in the box before she lays it off for Maanum on the edge but the midfielder can't keep her effort down. That goes down as a pretty decent opportunity.
8 - Norway venture on their first attack and put Esson under some pressure, first patting out a cross and then winning a foul off Hegerberg's acrobatic attempt.
5 - First opening of the game and it's for the co-hosts. Wilkinson puts a low ball into the penalty area but Mjelde is there to clear the danger. It only gets out to Steinmetz, who shoots from range, but the effort sails over.
1 - Underway at Eden Park in Auckland for the first match of the 2023 Women's World Cup with co-hosts New Zealand getting the ball rolling.
Starting line-ups
Match preview
Co-hosts New Zealand have the honour of opening the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup (WWC) against Norway, and will be hoping a big crowd at Auckland’s Eden Park can help set them on their way towards the knockouts for the first time following five previous group stage exits.
However, one win across their last 12 matches (D2, L9) and just one victory in their last 13 at home (D4, L8) suggests that could be a struggle.
The Football Ferns met Norway in the group stage of the first WWC in China in 1991, losing 4-0, and have only won one subsequent H2H (D1, L5) - making it clear why they’ll start as big outsiders.
Although they may have half an eye on more winnable games to come against the Philippines and Switzerland, Jitka Klimková’s side must still try to avoid becoming the first host/co-host to lose their opening game since Sweden in 1995.
That tournament was a happy one for Norway as they emerged as champions, yet they’ve never bettered fourth place since, exiting at the quarter-finals in 2019.
They’re not expected to challenge for overall glory here but are clear favourites to win this group, and that’s despite not winning any of their last four matches (D2, L2), three of which saw the World Cup ever-presents trailing inside the opening 20 minutes!
Expect manager Hege Riise, who was player of the tournament as the Grasshoppers marched to glory in 1995, to therefore urge her side to switch on from the start as they bid to make it eight consecutive WWC opening wins in a row.
The last three of those came ‘to nil’ and another such performance would go some way to avenging last year’s disappointing group stage exit at the Euros.
Players to watch: New Zealand forward Jacqui Hand plays her football in Scandinavia for Åland and both of her international strikes opened the scoring, most recently against Vietnam (W 2-0) earlier this month.
Norway’s Ada Hegerberg, who won the Ballon d’Or in 2018, has scored four goals across her last four appearances for club side Lyon, two of them between the 65th and 75th minute.
Hot streak: No team has played more WWC matches without winning one than New Zealand’s 15 (D3, L12).
