World Cup, Day 1 Analysis
Co-hosts New Zealand caused a shock as they beat Norway in the opening game, while Australia did enough to get past Republic of Ireland without Sam Kerr.
What this meant for New Zealand as a country
We can talk about Norway, and will, but it would be disrespectful to not focus first on the co-hosts who recorded a remarkable victory, for so many reasons.
Coming into the game, New Zealand had never won a Women's World Cup match and had one win in 12 months coming into the tournament, that coming against Vietnam in a pre-tournament friendly less than two weeks ago.
Then there was the horrendous backdrop of what happened in Auckland in the early hours of the matchday, as several citizens died in a shooting close to the FIFA Fan Zone and several of the team hotels, and a clearly emotional Ali Riley referenced post-match how they wanted to give the nation something to smile about.
And what a performance it was. They were better than Norway's array of superstars, they were more of a team, their individuals shone, such as former Manchester City midfielder Betsy Hassett and the excellent Malia Steinmetz, as well as a solid backline.
The goal itself was worthy of winning the match as - not for the first time - New Zealand hit Norway down the channels and a low cross was slotted home by match-winner Hannah Wikinson, the nation's top scorer.
As the crowd went wild at full-time and New Zealand's players flooded the pitch, it was a fitting start to this World Cup.
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As for Norway...
Well, what is there to say? There were many questions about Norway coming into this tournament, largely around could they avoid a repeat of the disaster of last summer at the European Championships.
The answer appears to be no. How a team with so many world class players could be that poor is beyond me, but there were some tactical decisions which just didn't make sense to the watching eye.
Guro Reiten, the best attacking player in the WSL last season, was in the middle, as she often has been for Norway under Hege Riise, and was barely in the game. Caroline Graham Hansen showed glimpses, but neither her nor Julie Blakstad could get the ball to Ada Hegerberg enough.
Norway had no shots on target, yet did miss two big chances and struck the crossbar, but a defeat was deserved, and opens up many more questions as they now fight to get out of the group...again.
Riise's preference has been to go with two number eights in her midfield, which is fine if you have a world class defensive midfielder with the tenacity of Lena Oberdorf, but Riise left Ingrid Engen exposed, as was shown when Steinmetz breezed past her and ran all the way to the edge of the box in the first half.
Whatever this was, it didn't work. Riise has flattened the Norway attack to try and aid an ailing defence, but the defence still looked as shakey as ever and they didn't have the attacking threat to bail themselves out.
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