AWAY WE GO
Major football tournaments often feature tight, nervous games, in which both teams are scared to lose. The opening offerings from Ausealand 2023 did not disappoint, producing 1-0 wins for both co-hosts, although the Matildas only did so after losing their record goalscorer in the buildup to the match against the Republic of Ireland, Sam Kerr twanging a calf during training which rules her out of their first two games – at least. “Of course I would have loved to have been out there, but I can’t wait to be a part of this amazing journey which starts now,” cooed Kerr.
It meant Australia lost much of their flamin’ threat in the final third, relying on a Steph Catley penalty to break the deadlock against stubborn and well-organised opposition. Marissa Sheva, who gave away the penalty, was reduced to tears upon her substitution, showing how much this World Cup means to the first-time participants. Ireland’s first – and admittedly only – shot on target came in the 96th minute, while the co-hosts managed double that tally … one of which was their successful spot-kick.
The opening ceremony took place in Auckland, featuring a mixture of fireworks, dancing and general joy, the sort of thing football usually does without. New Zealand’s aim before the tournament kicked off was to win a game, having failed to do so in their previous 15th matches at this level. A little more than 90 minutes later and they had already achieved their target in surprising fashion, downing Norway 1-0 and thus hastily requiring a new squad goal. The winner from Hannah Wilkinson, making her 116th international appearance, was an incredible team effort, going from back to front in the blink of an eye to get the better of the Norwegian defence. A worthy moment to ignite the competition in front of a record crowd for a football match in New Zealand. “I am so, so proud,” roared co-captain Ali Riley. “We have been fighting for this for so long.”
In what was another nervy affair, the Football Ferns could have sealed victory in the final minute, only for Ria Percival to ping her penalty against the bar, leaving them a further nine minutes of added time to hold on. Thankfully for New Zealand, Norway were a disjointed mess and struggled to create any chances, which might explain why Ada Hegerberg looked absolutely fuming at the end. Caroline Graham Hansen was devastated by the defeat. “With the win we would have more confidence, but now we just have to show what we’re made of,” she sniffed. “If not, we might as well just go home.” Here’s to another month of joy and frustration.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“We get stuck … and we lose our shoes and so on, but we just try to get the ball to the goal” – admirable stoicism from Lahen Stolit player Siri after they won the women’s professional category at the Swamp Soccer World Cup in Finland.
FOOTBALL DAILY LETTERS
Re: yesterday’s Football Daily letters. I’m not sure what Ray Griffin’s on but, as an ex-soap writer who knows how hard it is to keep turning out popular entertainment to a tight deadline (‘popular entertainment’ quotient debatable, obviously), I’ve always found David Squires’s work to be blessed with a touch of understated genius. And – as with some of the greatest ‘cartoonists’ throughout history – it’s not always about being funny” – Steve Bennett (and 1,056 others).
Loved the Gary Lineker and Paul Gascoigne cricket photo (yesterday’s Memory Lane, full email edition), which looked exactly like every holiday photo developed at SupaSnaps in the early-90s: slightly over-exposed. Maybe it was a one-hour rush order?” – Siân Williams.
Was that picture of Lineker and Gascoigne at Italia ‘90 taken before Gary ‘slipped one down the inside leg’ against Ireland?” – Martyn Shapter.
The only problem with Simon Dunsby’s idea of Football Daily adopting the Smiths’ ‘That Joke Isn’t Funny Anymore’ as a theme song (yesterday’s letters) is that it assumes the joke was ever funny to begin with” –
The ManEdward Dean.
Send your letters to the.boss@theguardian.com. Today’s winners of our prizeless letter o’ the day is … Steve Bennett (and 1,056 others).
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