Women's Soccer World Cup Opens with Wins by New Zealand and Australia
2023-07-21
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1The Women's soccer World Cup has started in Australia and New Zealand and will continue until August 20.
2The teams from the host countries won their first games on Thursday.
3New Zealand defeated Norway, 1-0.
4It was the first-ever win in the tournament for New Zealand.
5Australia is playing without Sam Kerr, one of the world's best players, but it still defeated Ireland, 1-0.
6Norway had been one of the top teams in the world when women's soccer was young, winning the 1995 World Cup.
7However, the team has not been as good recently, losing early in both the 2019 tournament and at the 2022 European Cup.
8Katie Bowen is a member of the New Zealand team.
9Seeing her team ahead when the game ended was "absolutely surreal," she said.
10Players from New Zealand and Norway said they were not distracted by a shooting in Auckland earlier in the day.
11A man with a gun went into a construction site near the hotel where Norway was staying.
12He killed two people and later died after a shootout with New Zealand police.
13Extra police watched over the opening game at Eden Park stadium.
14Over 40,000 people were there, including New Zealand's Prime Minister, Chris Hipkins.
15He thanked the team for starting the tournament with an "inspirational" performance.
16For Australia, Steph Catley scored a goal on a penalty kick early in the second half and that was enough to win.
17Australian fans had been concerned about the news that Kerr would miss the tournament's first two games with a leg injury.
18Over 75,000 fans watched the match in a stadium built for the 2000 Olympics.
19Australia had trouble scoring without Kerr, who plays in the women's professional league in England for Chelsea.
20New Zealand's next game is on July 25 against the Philippines and Australia plays Nigeria on July 27.
21The defending champion United States plays Vietnam in its first match on July 22.
22The tournament is larger than in past years, with 32 teams.
23Many countries are in the tournament for the first time.
24They include Ireland, Vietnam, Zambia and Haiti.
25Other first-time competitors are Morocco, Panama, Portugal and the Philippines.
26The Americans are looking for their third-straight win, but other top teams include France, Japan, Germany, Canada and Brazil.
27Canada's coach is Bev Priestman. She said more countries are putting money into developing their teams and players.
28She said some teams could lose in the tournament's first games, known as the group stage, but then do well at the next level, called the knockout round.
29"It's tighter than it's ever been," she said.
30Soccer experts pointed to a recent 3-2 win by Africa's Zambia over Germany.
31"The world is catching up," said American coach Vlatko Andonovski.
32I'm Caty Weaver.
1The Women's soccer World Cup has started in Australia and New Zealand and will continue until August 20. The teams from the host countries won their first games on Thursday. 2New Zealand defeated Norway, 1-0. It was the first-ever win in the tournament for New Zealand. 3Australia is playing without Sam Kerr, one of the world's best players, but it still defeated Ireland, 1-0. 4Norway had been one of the top teams in the world when women's soccer was young, winning the 1995 World Cup. However, the team has not been as good recently, losing early in both the 2019 tournament and at the 2022 European Cup. 5Katie Bowen is a member of the New Zealand team. Seeing her team ahead when the game ended was "absolutely surreal," she said. 6Players from New Zealand and Norway said they were not distracted by a shooting in Auckland earlier in the day. A man with a gun went into a construction site near the hotel where Norway was staying. He killed two people and later died after a shootout with New Zealand police. 7Extra police watched over the opening game at Eden Park stadium. Over 40,000 people were there, including New Zealand's Prime Minister, Chris Hipkins. He thanked the team for starting the tournament with an "inspirational" performance. 8For Australia, Steph Catley scored a goal on a penalty kick early in the second half and that was enough to win. Australian fans had been concerned about the news that Kerr would miss the tournament's first two games with a leg injury. 9Over 75,000 fans watched the match in a stadium built for the 2000 Olympics. Australia had trouble scoring without Kerr, who plays in the women's professional league in England for Chelsea. 10New Zealand's next game is on July 25 against the Philippines and Australia plays Nigeria on July 27. 11The defending champion United States plays Vietnam in its first match on July 22. 12The tournament is larger than in past years, with 32 teams. Many countries are in the tournament for the first time. They include Ireland, Vietnam, Zambia and Haiti. Other first-time competitors are Morocco, Panama, Portugal and the Philippines. 13The Americans are looking for their third-straight win, but other top teams include France, Japan, Germany, Canada and Brazil. 14Canada's coach is Bev Priestman. She said more countries are putting money into developing their teams and players. She said some teams could lose in the tournament's first games, known as the group stage, but then do well at the next level, called the knockout round. "It's tighter than it's ever been," she said. 15Soccer experts pointed to a recent 3-2 win by Africa's Zambia over Germany. 16"The world is catching up," said American coach Vlatko Andonovski. 17I'm Caty Weaver. 18Dan Friedell adapted this story for Learning English based on reports by the Associated Press. 19____________________________________________________ 20Words in This Story 21host -n. a country that holds an international event 22absolutely -adv. completely 23surreal -adj. very strange or dreamlike 24distracted -adj. unable to pay attention 25inspirational -adj. causing people to want to do something or to feel like they can do more 26penalty kick -n. a chance to score a goal given to a team when a member of the opposing team breaks the rules 27tournament -n. a large competition involving many teams over that takes place of days or weeks 28knockout round -n. a part of a competition in which a team is out after a loss 29We want to hear from you. Do you think there will be any surprises at the World Cup? 30Here is how our comment system works: 31Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.