Australia and New Zealand won

(CNN) — Co-hosts New Zealand beat Norway 1-0 in their opening match of the 2023 Women’s World Cup at Eden Park in Auckland to claim their first World Cup win.

Hannah Wilkinson scored in the second half, connecting with Jackie Hand’s perfect cross to amaze the 42,000 home fans.

New Zealand’s women’s team had previously gone 15 World Cup matches without a win, the longest winless streak by any country at soccer’s biggest tournament.

This is the biggest tournament ever, with 32 teams taking part in 64 matches across Australia and New Zealand over the next four weeks.

Co-hosts New Zealand are participating in their sixth World Cup and are unbeaten in previous tournaments.

For Norway, expectations are high and the 1995 World Cup winners are expected to perform well in the tournament.

A minute’s silence was observed at the start of the Women’s World Cup following a rare shooting in downtown Auckland just hours before the opening match.

Meanwhile, Australia will play against Ireland in the second round.

The final will be held on August 20 at the Sydney Olympic Stadium in Australia.

Australia win without Sam Kerr

Co-hosts Australia kicked off their Women’s World Cup campaign with a 1-0 win over Ireland thanks to a Steph Gately penalty.

The “Matildas” can’t rely on their star forward Sam Kerr, who will miss the first two games of the tournament due to a training injury.

His absence from the team was glaring as Australia lacked precision in a goalless first half in which they were outplayed by Ireland.

The Australians eventually took the lead after half-time with a penalty which Gately expertly converted to the delight of a stadium crowd of 75,784, a record for an Australian home game.

Ireland could not find an equalizer despite several promising set-piece chances and the Matildas sealed victory.