Women’s World Cup football eyes on Australia, New Zealand trying to make an identity

New Zealand, known for its passion for rugby, wants to see the sport rise up the graph in the country by co-hosting the Women’s Football World Cup. On the opening day of the tournament, New Zealand will face Norway in Group A and co-hosts Australia will take on Ireland in Sydney. Kiwi defender Ali Riley said, “I expect a huge crowd not only for our match but for all the matches here. This is the World Cup and we are very excited about it. We have been preparing for this for three years. working hard New Zealand Football has announced that there will be at least 50,000 spectators for the first match at Auckland’s Eden Park, the highest in the country’s football history.

The demand for tickets for Australia’s first match was so high that the match had to be held at Stadium Australia, which has a capacity of 82,000 and was built for the 2000 Sydney Olympics. New Zealand has not won a World Cup match even once out of the last five. This year he played nine matches and had to face defeat in seven. Norway, on the other hand, has won the World Cup in 1995 and is one of the strongest teams in Group A. Against New Zealand, they won five out of seven matches, drew one and lost one. “There will be pressure on both teams but we have come well prepared,” said Norway coach Hedge Riese. Australia, on the other hand, will be eyeing Sam Kerr, who has scored 63 international goals.

Most recently, she was instrumental in Chelsea winning their fourth consecutive title in the Women’s Super League. Australia did not lose a match in the Cup of Nations in February and halted England’s 30-match winning streak in April. Ireland is playing in its first World Cup and a warm-up match against Colombia in Brisbane had to be stopped after 20 minutes after Irish players complained of excessive attacking play.