Women’s World Cup 2023 opening game: Who’s playing? When and where?

The World Cup is finally here. The wait is over for what many are calling the best ever tournament in women’s football history: Megan Rapinoe called it a “massive cultural moment”, so who are we to say no? Huge stars have already landed in the two host nations and preparations for the opening day are well underway, with flags, banners, merchandise and, most importantly, fans, lining almost every street of every host city.

But who is playing in the opening game? And how are things different this time given that we have two host nations?

Great questions. Well, here are the answers...

Who is playing in the opening game of the Women’s World Cup?

The world cup is being held across cities in both Australia and New Zealand, with ten top-tier venues hosting the matches. The first game of the tournament will be between New Zealand and Norway, which will kick off an hour ahead of the second game. New Zealand come into the tournament in not great form, it must be said, with the pressure of a strong performance at a home tournament seemingly weighing heavy on the black shirts.

The same cannot be said of their opponents, Norway, who have a plethora of stars in their squad, including Champions League winner Caroline Graham Hansen and lethal goalscorer, Ada Hegerberg.

Australia to take on Ireland

After that game kicks off, we will be treated to the second helping of football on the opening day, as Australia will face the Republic of Ireland, who are representing their country at the tournament for the first time in their history. Ireland suffered a scare in the buildup to the tournament when Colombia, their opponents in a warmup game, went flying into various, unnecessary challenges on the players, causing the game to be abandoned after just 23 minutes.

Australia will come into the tournament much in the same way as their co-hosts, with a huge amount of expectation on their shoulders. However, their squad is primed to make an impact on the tournament and could potentially go far, with stars such as Mary Fowler and Sam Kerr in fine form.

Where are the games? When are they?

New Zealand’s game against Norway will be held at Eden Park, in Auckland at 3 a.m. ET/12 a.m. PT. The stadium was opened way back in 1900 and is the country’s national ground, holding 50,000 people. The New Zealand men’s rugby team have been unbeaten at this venue in 48 consecutive test matches stretching back to 1994, so the women’s football side will be looking to channel some of that positive fortune.

As for Australia’s opener, it will take place at Stadium Australia, in Sydney, with kick-off at 6 a.m. ET/3 a.m. PT.. The 82,000-capacity venue is located in the Sydney Olympic Park and was, as you may have guessed, built specifically to host the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000. It was during those very games where the attendance record was broken, with 114,714 people attending the closing ceremony.

Both games will be played on Thursday 20 July.