Australia beat Ireland 1-0 in their World Cup opener

Australia beat Ireland 1-0 this Thursday morning (20) at the Olympic Stadium in Sydney, in the first match of Group B of the 2023 edition of the Women’s World Cup. With this result, the Matildas lead the group with 3 points. Australia entered the field without its main highlight, striker Sam Kerr. The Chelsea player (England) suffered a calf injury during training and will not be able to defend the Matildas in the first games of the World Cup (against Ireland and against Nigeria). The first half reserved for the public a confrontation with few emotions, largely due to Ireland’s posture of remaining in defense, not offering spaces for the Matildas forward players, who only had one clear goal opportunity, already at 50 with a long-distance shot by midfielder Gorry. Thus, the score was only changed in the final stage. After just five minutes, Brazilian referee Edina Alves (who worked in the match with three other representatives of the country: assistants Neuza Back and Leila Moreira and video referee Daiane Muniz) signaled a penalty in favor of Australia when Sheva knocked Raso down inside the area. The lateral Catley charged very well and did not give any chance to the goalkeeper Brosnan. The goal gave a new dynamic to the game, with the Matildas coming in with a lot of danger with Fowler and Foord, while McCabe almost scored an Olympic goal for Ireland in the 25th minute. However, in front of an audience of more than 75 thousand people, the home team managed to manage their advantage until the end of the confrontation. Opening game Earlier, New Zealand defeated Norway 1-0 thanks to a Hannah Wilkinson goal at Eden Park in Auckland in the opening match of the 2023 edition of the women’s football World Cup. With this triumph, the New Zealand team took the lead in Group A of the World Cup with 3 points. Premiere of Brazil The Brazilian team, which seeks the unprecedented title of the World Cup, will debut in the first phase of the competition starting at 8 am (Brasília time) next Monday (24). The confrontation, which will be against Panama, is in Group F, which also includes France and Jamaica.

Agência Brasil