Australia and New Zealand will open the ninth Women's World Cup co-hosted by the two nations on Thursday, despite a shooting near the Norwegian team hotel in New Zealand's largest city of Auckland that left three dead and six injured.
New Zealand's Football Ferns will open the tournament as planned at Eden Park in the city against Norway on Thursday at 7pm local time (0700 GMT), in what is likely to surpass the host nation's previous biggest crowd for an international football match.