Auckland: Hannah Wilkinson's second-half goal gave New Zealand a shock 1-0 win over former champions Norway at Eden Park on Thursday as the co-hosts kicked off the Women's World Cup in style by claiming their first ever victory at the global soccer showpiece.
The Football Ferns had failed to win a game at their five previous World Cup appearances but Wilkinson fired home from close range from Jacqui Hand's pinpoint cross in the 48th minute to give them a lead they would not relinquish.
"I am so, so proud," said New Zealand co-captain Ali Riley. "We have been fighting for this for so long."
Norway, champions in 1995, were disappointing and disjointed and rarely looked as if they would get back on level terms. Their best chance came from Tuva Hansen's right-footed effort, which ricocheted back off the crossbar in the 81st minute.
New Zealand's Ria Percival had the chance to put the game out of reach in the 90th minute but her penalty hit the crossbar, setting up a nervy finish.
Norway threw players forward in search of an equaliser but the stout Ferns' defence held firm.
"This is not what we had anticipated," said Norway captain Maren Mjelde. "We woke up the last 25 minutes but it was too late."
The crowd of 42,137 - a record for a football match in New Zealand - let out a deafening roar as the match came to an end, with Ferns coach Jitka Klimkova burying her face in her hands in joy as her players celebrated.
"There were a lot of doubters because of the (recent) results we had but we believed - we believed in ourselves this entire game," said Riley.
"We showed it and we played with confidence. The finish, this is what dreams are made of."
The win put New Zealand on track toward their goal of getting out of the group stage of the tournament. They face debutants the Philippines on Tuesday in a match that had widely been seen as their best chance of winning in Group A.
Australia edge Ireland
Co-hosts Australia laboured initially in the absence of injured captain Sam Kerr but a second-half penalty from Steph Catley got them off to a solid start with a 1-0 win over Ireland in Group B.
The news that striker Kerr had been ruled out by a calf injury stunned the record crowd of 75,784 as it filtered into Stadium Australia but Catley stepped up to take the captain's armband and score the decisive goal in the 52nd minute.
Ireland, cheered on by a noisy band of compatriots, made life difficult for the Australians with their compact defence and might have forced an equaliser during a period of sustained pressure late in the second half.
Australia, however, held on to make a winning start to a tournament in which they feel they can be genuine contenders after wins over England, Spain and France this year.
