After months of buildup and excitement, the opening match of the 2023 Women's World Cup is finally upon us, with co-hosts New Zealand looking to take something of a scalp when they face Norway.
Taking place at Eden Park in Auckland, a crowd of close to 50,000 is expected to watch the first of 64 matches of the most keenly anticipated Women's World Cup ever.
New Zealand will hope home-field advantage and an extended training camp will be enough to shake off a horror run of form that has seen them win only one of their last 11 games, while Norway will look to get off to a solid start in a group they are expected to win.
The Sporting News has all the details on how fans around the world can tune into this exciting match!
MORE: Complete Women's World Cup schedule
What time is New Zealand vs Norway?
The opening match of the Women's World Cup will begin at 7 p.m. local time at Eden Park, Auckland.
- Date: Thursday July 20
- Time: 7 p.m. NZST (3 a.m. ET)
The match will be preceded by the opening ceremony of the tournament, which will take place roughly 90 minutes before kickoff.
Here is the kickoff time for the opening match in other timezones around the world:
| Region | Date | Time |
|---|---|---|
| USA | Thurs, July 20 | 3 a.m. ET |
| Canada | Thurs, July 20 | 3 a.m. ET |
| UK | Thurs, July 20 | 8 a.m. BST |
| India | Thurs, July 20 | 12:30 p.m. IST |
| Australia | Thurs, July 20 | 5 p.m. AEST |
| New Zealand | Thurs, July 20 | 7 p.m. NZST |
| Singapore | Thurs, July 20 | 3 p.m. SGT |
| Malaysia | Thurs, July 20 | 3 p.m. MYT |
| Hong Kong | Thurs, July 20 | 3 p.m. HKT |
MORE: New Zealand final 23-player World Cup squad
New Zealand vs Norway live stream, TV channel
With the opening match of the Women's World Cup being one of the most keenly anticipated matches for the entire tournament, it is set to be shown around the world by many broadcasters.
In some countries, such as New Zealand, Australia and the UK, the match will be shown on free-to-air television, ensuring it will be accessible to a large segment of football fans around the world.
MORE: World Cup opening ceremony details
| TV channel | Streaming | |
|---|---|---|
| USA | Fox, Telemundo | Fubo, Peacock, Telemundo Deportes site/app, Fox Sports site/app |
| Canada | TSN1, TSN4, TSN5 | TSN+, RDS site/app |
| UK | BBC One | BBC iPlayer, BBC website |
| Australia | Seven | Optus Sport, 7plus |
| New Zealand | Sky Sport 1 | Prime TV, Sky Go, Sky Sport NOW |
| India | DD Sports Channel | Fancode |
| Hong Kong | Now TV | Viu |
| Singapore | Singtel TV | StarHub TV+, Singtel TV GO, CAST, MeWatch |
New Zealand vs Norway lineups
New Zealand manager Jitka Klimkova will look to utilise the experience of veteran players like Ali Riley, Ria Percival and Betsy Hassett in the opening match and throughout the tournament, though some youngsters have grabbed attention in recent months.
Forward Indiah-Paige Riley was hugely impressive in her side's 2-0 warm-up win over Vietnam and has done enough to earn herself a start on opening night in Auckland.
New Zealand starting lineup (4-3-3): Esson (GK) — Bott, Bowen, A. Riley, Stott — Hassett, Percival, Steinmetz — I. Riley, Wilkinson, Hand.
Norway were one of the few teams in the world that did not take part in warm-up matches before the World Cup, with their last friendlies coming back in April.
Star attackers Caroline Graham Hansen and Ada Hegerberg will be the key attacking threats New Zealand will need to neutralise, while the midfield is also stacked with quality players with the likes of Guro Reiten, Frida Maanum and Ingrid Syrstad Engen.
Norway starting lineup (4-3-3): Mikalsen (GK) — Bjelde, Mjelde, Harviken, Hansen — Reiten, Maanum, Syrstad Engen — Graham Hansen, Hegerberg, Blakstad.
New Zealand vs Norway betting odds
Despite new Zealand having the advantage of playing on home turf in front of a passionate crowd, Norway are heavy favourites to get their Women's World Cup campaign off to a winning start.
Many bookmakers are predicting there will be over 2.5 goals in the match, which may be an enticing option for bettors.
| New Zealand win | Draw | Norway win | Both teams to score Y / N | Over / Under 2.5 goals | NZL +1.5 | NOR -1.5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BetMGM (USA) | +825 | +450 | -350 | +100 / -145 | -165 / +120 | -115 | -120 |
| Sports Interaction (Canada) | +740 | +400 | -400 | -106 / -147 | -179 / +127 | -105 | -125 |
| SkyBet (UK) | 15/8 | 23/10 | 13/10 | 5/6, 5/6 | 11/10, 4/6 | — | — |
| Unibet (Australia) | 9.75 | 5.60 | 1.28 | 2.06 / 1.73 | 1.61 / 2.25 | 1.97 | 1.87 |
| Dafabet (India) | 3.10 | 3.25 | 2.49 | 2.02 / 1.80 | 2.42 / 1.60 | 1.25 | 4.50 |