G’day mate! The biggest footballing event of the year is underway. The ninth edition of FIFA Women’s World Cup was off to a flying start with an upset (?) already and both the host nations winning their respective first games.
Records were broken, history made and a generation inspired. It was a historic day in WoSo world.
The World Cup Diaries is going to be a series a newsletters providing you a short recap of every game, some tactical and data bits along with some highlight of the day.
So let’s get started!
Match 1: New Zealand 1-0 Norway
The Football Ferns were up against Norway in the opener, in search of winning their first ever World Cup game after failing the first 15 times.
And they succeeded.
The host nation produced a spirited display and outplayed Norway. Hannah Wilkinson, who is the country’s fourth highest goalscorer, scored the only goal of the game in the 48th minute, in a swift six pass move from back to front. The 31-year-old physically dominant striker, who has also helped paint the mural that adornes Eden Park (the venue of today’s game), absolutely bullied Norway’s backline.
Norway continues to be a disappointing side at the international level despite their talent pool. The Scandinavian nation, infamously known for their mind-numbing ways of playing players out of position and making a makeshift defence out of it, struggled from the get go and never got up to the pace of the game.
The 4-3-3 with Reiten playing as the left sided interior seemed like an effort to accomodate too many chefs onto the pitch which ended up spoiling the dish. The midfield looked lightweight and was overrun easily with no support.
Look at this sequene of play in the first quarter of the game. Barcelona’s Ingrid Engen (Norway’s defensive midfielder in this game) was left with no support in midfield. This coupled by the inabilty of Norway’s CBs to bring the ball out on their own forced pretty easy turnovers.
Norway looked disjointed. They looked like a side who don’t know their own players.
New Zealand, on the other hand, were excellent. The side were disciplined, quickly switching shapes and aggressively closing down by the touchline to force turnovers. The centrebacks were switched on the entire game and the fullbacks absolutely locked down their flanks.
One of the standout performers of the game was C.J. Bott, who put in a massive shift at right-back. She was rock solid defensively against the talented 21-year-old Julie Blakstad. She tracked the runner perfectly and recovered possession really well.
And the co-host could have doubled their advantage from the spot but Ria Percival, who had an excellent overall game, hit the crossbar.
New Zealand’s 32 year long thirst for a World Cup win was quenched in the best possible way. In front of 42,137 home fans, who all rejoiced along with the Football Ferns. The tears at the end from the country’s second most capped player, Ali Riley, said a thousand words.
“We did it. This is what dreams are made of.” said Riley.
Match 2: Australia 1-0 Ireland
Australia’s buildup to their opener got slightly muted when it was announed that the country’s all time top goalscorer, Sam Kerr, will not be available for the opener (and the second group stage game as well).
The Matildas switched to a 4-4-2 with Caitlin Foord and Mary Fowler leading the line against Ireland’s stubborn 5-4-1 block. The game was expected to be a little duel heavy and it didn’t disappoint on that front.
Neither teams were able to establish control over proceedings with game having a start-stop feel to it. As we can see in the game flow chart (which tells us how the game went in terms of threat creation), the first half started off really slow and it largely continued that way apart from brief spells from either side towards the end of each half.
Tactically speaking, it was an intriguing watch.
Ireland’s back three build-up having the numerical advantage over Australia’s press with a front two. On the flip side, Australia’s use of a flat double pivot and getting Mary Fowler to drop from the forward line and Hayley Raso to come inside into the midfield to free up space on the flanks was a novel idea but wasn’t as successful.
The game was decided from the spot when Matildas’ captain, Steph Catley, stepped up to slot home from the spot. Australia did well to hold on to the lead, shifting to a back three set-up to close out the game.
Katrina Gorry was the star of the match with the diminutive midfielder playing with three lungs. She covered every blade of the grass in midfield and put in an incredible shift defensively, recovering a lot of loose balls. She didn’t hold back from exchanging blows with the Irish contingent, making herself a palpable presence on the field.
The McRaso battle
The duel between Raso and Irish captain, Katie McCabe, was a highlight of the game with the two players constantly at each other’s throat.
Both players were smart at initiating contact and winning fouls while trying to get under each other’s skin. Surprisingly despite the fiery display McCabe committed just one foul all game!
The Green and Gold showcased in front of a record 75,784 people that they don’t fold under pressure now and have a side where multiple players can take responsibilities. They might miss their record breaking captain in the next games but they are ready to win now.
Highlight of the day
When a cramped up Thea Bjelde was carried off the pitch by teammates Caroline Graham Hansen (right) and Vilde Boe Risa (left) and then dumped like a sack of potatoes by the touchline.