Women’s World Cup: Triumph and records for New Zealand and Australia in opening | TV5MONDE

The Women’s World Cup opened on Thursday amid excitement for New Zealand and Australia, the host nations triumphing from the start with attendance records, a historic murky day with a penalty shootout in Auckland and an injury to Sam Kerr.

More than 115,000 spectators in total attended the opening two matches of the tournament. And they spoiled the surprising victory of the New Zealanders over Norway (1-0) and the most expected victory of the Australians over Ireland (1-0).

New Zealand fans heeded the call, packing 42,137 at the iconic Eden Park, a record for a football match in the archipelago, according to the local association. As for fans of the Australian Matildas, they also set a historic mark at home for women’s football, with 75,784 registered at Stadium Australia, the legendary venue for the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.

The organizers hope that this enthusiasm for a month of competition (until August 20) will accompany this ninth edition of the Women’s World Cup, which is programmed to accelerate the development of discipline, between increasing professionalism and commitment to equality.

On the field, New Zealand’s Football Ferns were up to the stakes, against Norway’s former Lyon Ballon d’Or player Ada Hegerberg, during the opening game that went out after half-time.

Striker Hannah Wilkinson’s goal (48′) gave them their first victory (1-0) in the competition, on their 16th attempt.

Ola in Australia

2,000km to the west, Arsenal’s Steve Catley dressed as a hero by converting a penalty in the 52nd minute. A moment of goosebumps for a sold-out stadium and beyond. Melbourne’s Federation Square venue, where a giant screen has been installed, unleashed joy despite the coldness of this winter’s night.

And the “Al-Ula” spread on the field almost made us forget the injury of the offensive star and captain, Sam Kerr, who was injured in the calf on Wednesday and lost at least two matches. A big blow to the “Aussie”, especially if the absence extends beyond July 31, the date of the second group confrontation against the Canadian Olympic champion.

The two emotionally charged opening matches were preceded by a minute’s silence in honor of the two people killed in an earlier shooting in central Auckland. The shooter also lost his life.

The incident, which has nothing to do with the tournament, according to FIFA, disrupted the preparation of several close selections, including the double American champion. FIFA and the New Zealand authorities have confirmed that there are no particular security concerns around the competition.

“the world will watch”

This is supposed to be historical. First World Cup featuring 32 teams, first World Cup in the Southern Hemisphere, first World Cup co-organised by two nations: the 736 players called up for this edition are hoping to take their discipline to a new level, four years after the successful edition in France .

“This trophy will become symbolic and we will see extraordinary matches here. The world will watch,” said Gianni Infantino, an ardent FIFA president who expects a “celebration” of women’s football, eight months after a man criticized him at the World Cup in Qatar.

This context is matched by FIFA’s historically high endowment: $152 million promised to teams, three times what it was in 2019 and ten times more than in 2015.

But this acceleration is accompanied by doubts about the health of the players. Many stars, such as the French Marie Antoinette Catoto or the English Beth Mead, dropped out due to a serious knee injury.

This competition in the Southern Hemisphere between July and August raises questions about TV viewers in major soccer nations, who will sometimes have to get up early to watch matches due to the time difference. FIFA narrowly avoided the audiovisual fiasco by signing broadcast agreements in Europe and Japan at the last minute.