The 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup has kicked off with co-host New Zealand taking on Norway in the Group A opener.
The tournament is being hosted in Australia and New Zealand from Thursday, July 20 to Sunday, August 20, 2023.
The opening is being played at Eden Park, Auckland, while the final will take place at Sydney Olympic Stadium in Australia.
The 2023 World cup has been expanded to a record 32 teams, from the previous 24: these teams will have 736 players at the tournament.
New Zealand won their first game in a women world cup as the team recorded beat Norway 1-0 in Auckland, a city of a deadly shooting which cast a shadow over what was supposed to be a day of celebration.
The incident in the centre of  the country's largest city, close to where hundreds of football supporters were due to gather at a fan park, left two people dead and six others injured. The co-host had failed to win any of their previous 15 World Cup games.
World football governing body FIFA said it had been informed it was an isolated incident and Thursday's match between New Zealand and Norway at Eden Park would go ahead as planned.
A statement by FIFA says that local authorities will provide additional security assurances for participating teams and their fans.
“We appreciate the collaboration with the New Zealand authorities from the earliest moment of this tragic incident,” said FIFA President Gianni Infantino.

Which teams are participating in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup?
The Thirty-two teams who have qualified for the competition have been placed in 8 Groups:

Group A
• New Zealand
• Norway
• Philippines
• Switzerland

Group B
• Australia
• Republic of Ireland
• Nigeria
• Canada

Group C
• Spain
• Costa Rica
• Zambia
• Japan

Group D
• England
• Haiti
• Denmark
• China

Group E
• USA
• Vietnam
• Netherlands
• Portugal

Group F
• France
• Jamaica
• Brazil
• Panama

Group G
• Sweden
• South Africa
• Italy
• Argentina

Group H
• Germany
• Morocco
• Colombia
• Korea Republic

Access24 reports that 64 will be played across 10 stadiums across New Zealand and Australia cities.