The women's squad shocked much favoured Norway with a 1-0 victory to start the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup, marking the first-ever victory for a New Zealand national football team at a World Cup competition.
A moment of silence was observed prior to the start of the match in memory of the two people who lost their lives and the five others who were hurt, including a police officer, in the shooting that occurred in Auckland early on Thursday morning not far from Eden Park, the site of the opening World Cup game.
The shooting resulted in the death of the shooter, and New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins told reporters that neither the national security of the country nor the World Cup competition were in danger as a result.
The tournament will go ahead as scheduled, according to Hipkins, who claimed that the government had spoken to FIFA organisers this morning.
As it turned out, the match between No. 26 in the world rated New Zealand and No. 12 ranked Norway in Group A broke the previous attendance record for a men's or women's football match in New Zealand with more than 42,100 spectators, according to CNN Sports.
Up until Hannah Wilkinson of New Zealand scored from close range in the 48th minute off a cross from teammate Jacqui Hand, the game was scoreless. When Ria Percival's shot struck the crossbar in the final seconds of normal time, New Zealand missed a penalty opportunity that would have given the Ferns a second goal.