The match
History weighs heavily on these teams ahead of this FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023™ curtain-raiser, and both will feel they have a point to prove.
New Zealand are still searching for that elusive first win at this tournament and know only too well that some poor pre-tournament form has increased doubts that they will end their long wait. Norway, too, have some baggage to shed, having ended their UEFA Women’s EURO campaign with demoralising defeats to Austria and England – the latter by an eight-goal margin.
Team news
Fitness concerns over New Zealand trio Betsy Hassett, CJ Bott and Rebekah Stott have been played down in recent days, with absences from training attributed to workload-management and, in Stott’s case, a heavy cold. Jitka Klimkova will also need to assess the match-readiness of midfielders Ria Percival and Annalie Longo as both have only recently returned from ACL injuries. Norway are expected to be at full strength.
Players to watch
Ria Percival
The timely return to fitness of this experienced and accomplished midfielder is one of the main sources of optimism among Football Ferns fans. “It’s so good to have her back,” Jitka Klimkova has said of New Zealand’s most-capped player of either gender. “She brings that grit, and she’s the best role model for everybody around. She worked so hard to be back on the field and she’s the same Ria like before [the injury]. It’s so good to see that she’s not hesitating. She’s tough, that girl.”
Caroline Graham Hansen
While the long-awaited return to the world stage of Ada Hegerberg may capture attention, it is Graham Hansen who comes into the tournament as Norway’s most formidable and in-form player. The Barcelona winger, who arrives fresh from playing a starring role in her club’s triumphant 2022/23 UEFA Women’s Champions League run, seems poised to cement her reputation as of the world’s most exciting and effective attackers.
- Facts and figures
This is New Zealand’s sixth Women’s World Cup and their fifth in succession. The Football Ferns have been present at each edition since 2007. - The Football Ferns have yet to progress through to the knockout phase and are still looking for their first victory in a Women’s World Cup match, with three draws and 12 defeats in their previous 15 matches. Their best showing came in 2015, when they drew two of their three group games.
- Winners in 1995, Norway have never missed a Women’s World Cup, having been present at each and every edition since 1991.
- Norway have progressed to the knockout stage at seven of the previous eight final tournaments. The exception to that rule came at Germany 2011.
Quotes
“We know we can succeed in this World Cup if we are united and very well-organised defensively. If each player has the mindset of ‘I’m not going to give up anything on the field’, we can be successful. When we talk about how we want to be remembered as a team after this World Cup, everybody says we want to be gritty. We want to be the team that is always really physical and hard to play against. This is the goal that we are building towards. We’ve been working really hard during those two years for this moment, and our goal is to inspire the nation.”
Jitka Klimkova, New Zealand coach
“Playing the opening game against New Zealand will be an amazing experience to kick off the World Cup. I think our group (Norway also face Switzerland and the Philippines) is kind of equal, with teams of similar quality. Hopefully we prove ourselves to be the better team. For me, being able to lead Norway in the World Cup will be probably one of the most exciting experiences of my life.”
Hege Riise, Norway coach
