AUCKLAND, New Zealand (AP) — In a rustic recognized extra for its love of rugby than girls’s soccer, New Zealand is aiming to win followers in addition to matches.
The Football Ferns kick off the Women’s World Cup on Thursday night time with a Group A match in opposition to Norway. The Ferns bought the nod for the event opener and will likely be adopted by co-host Australia’s match in opposition to Ireland in Sydney.
“I hope there will be a lot of people here for not just our games, but all of the games. It’s a world tournament and something we’ve been so excited to have here now. I’ve been looking forward to this for three years,” defender Ali Riley mentioned. “So I hope the excitement is there and I hope we do well, so that maybe the people who didn’t know about it will hear about it and will want to come to see us make history.”
New Zealand Football introduced that the opener at Auckland’s Eden Park may have the most important crowd for a soccer match within the nation’s historical past, estimated to be at the least 50,000.
“I was at the 1999 World Cup final in Los Angeles and I know what that did for me as a young girl. And so to have people here, that noise will give us energy,” mentioned Riley, who grew up in California and performs professionally for Angel City within the National Women’s Soccer League.
“But also I know what that can do for any little girls seeing these players, these awesome, confident empowered, women and athletes just living their dreams.”
While the Ferns try to seize hearts, the demand for tickets to Australia’s opener was so excessive that the match was moved to Stadium Australia, which was constructed for the 2000 Olympics and may seat greater than 82,000.
The Ferns have by no means gained a World Cup match in 5 earlier appearances in soccer’s largest event. And they’ve struggled this yr, with losses in seven of the 9 video games they’ve performed.
While it’s hoped that New Zealand will rally as hosts, the staff faces a major problem in Norway, which gained the World Cup in 1995. Considered the favorites in Group A, the Norwegians are 5-1-1 all-time in opposition to New Zealand, with the one loss coming in a 2019 exhibition match.
“There will be a lot of pressure, both on the home team but also on us, for the opening game, but we feel like we know what to expect,” Norway coach Hege Riise mentioned. “Again, in opening game, everything can happen. But our preparation has been good on New Zealand, defensively and offensively, attacking, so we feel like we are prepared.”
Ada Hegerberg returns to Norway’s World Cup squad after the striker’s self-imposed hiatus from 2017 to 2022 in protest of what she believed was lack of respect for the ladies’s nationwide staff.
The first girl to win the distinguished Ballon d’Or award, Hegerberg scored 43 objectives in 76 worldwide appearances. Currently taking part in for Lyon, she has scored a report 59 objectives within the Champions League.
Like Hegerberg, Australia star Sam Kerr is likely one of the sport’s prime gamers.
Kerr is Australia’s all-time main worldwide scorer — amongst women and men — with 63 objectives. She not too long ago helped Chelsea clinch a fourth consecutive Women’s Super League title and third straight FA Cup.
“For me, the expectation has kind of been growing over the four years so it’s been something I’ve learned to deal with,” she mentioned. “Of course, everyone in Australia has a lot of expectations, but it is something I take in my stride and I try to just enjoy it and I think back at Chelsea I’ve done that too. I’ve just enjoyed it and I think that’s when I’m my best me.”
Australia is well-primed as co-host of the event. The staff went undefeated in February’s Cup of Nations, beating Jamaica, Spain and the Czech Republic. In April, the Matilda’s ended England’s 30-game unbeaten streak with a 2-0 win.
But, a word of warning for the Matildas: they dropped a 3-2 match in opposition to Ireland in Dublin in late 2021.
Ireland is taking part in in its first World Cup and it has been a bumpy street to get right here. A warm-up match in opposition to Colombia in Brisbane was known as after 20 minutes due to what the Irish mentioned was tough play.
Denise O’Sullivan was taken to the hospital with a shin damage the midfielder sustained in the course of the behind-closed-doors match. Two Colombia gamers obtained yellow playing cards within the opening 19 minutes.
The damage wasn’t critical and O’Sullivan, who performs for the NWSL’s North Carolina Courage, was anticipated to play within the opener.
Content Source: www.washingtontimes.com