Co-host New Zealand celebrated its first Women’s World Cup victory ever on Thursday with gusto. (Watch the videos below.)
The No. 26-ranked squad stunned No. 12 Norway, 1-0, in the opening match, touching off a tide of joy in Auckland’s Eden Park stadium. Players and fans hugged and cheered to mark the historic triumph.
Hannah Wilkinson scored the only goal early in the second half on a breakaway pass from Jacqui Hand, and New Zealand hung on before 42,137 spectators ― record attendance for any soccer match in the island nation.
The game was played hours after a shooting in downtown Auckland left two dead, plus the gunman who stormed a construction site and opened fire.
But the match went on, and the team had plenty to celebrate after a rocky lead-up to the tournament, in which the Football Ferns had won just once in 11 games.
Here’s Wilkinson’s game-winner:
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