The Australian Matildas won the second game on the first day of FIFA's Women's World Cup against Ireland 1-0, with acting captain Steph Catley scoring the winning goal in the 52nd minute of the game.
Earlier that night, fellow tournament co-host New Zealand won a bittersweet but spectacular win against the Norwegian Grasshoppers 1-0 after a shooting incident in Auckland hours before the game, which resulted in the death of three people, including 24-year-old gunman Matu Tangi Matua Reid.
The Australians bested the Girls in Green despite the absence of star player and team captain Sam Kerr due to injury.
"This is her dream, she has been planning and preparing for it for years," Matildas coach Tony Gustavsson said. "It is devastating but the way she spoke to the team today says a lot about her as a person and as a captain for this team."
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Irish Team Did Their Country Proud, Ex-Girl in Green Says
Meanwhile, on the Irish side, former player Olivia O'Toole told ITV she was "absolutely 100% so proud" of the Girls in Green despite their World cup defeat.
The sentiment was echoed by Republic of Ireland manager Vera Pauw.
"We've shown we can play against the best teams in the world," she said. "Next is Canada, Olympic champions, but we do not fear anyone."
Upcoming Matches
FIFA would have a busy schedule tomorrow (July 21) as three matches would be held.
The first would be the Nigerian Super Falcons against Canada at 02:30 UTC. It would be followed by Switzerland competing with the Filipinas, who are competing in their very first FIFA World Cup match in Philippine sports history, at 05:00 UTC.
The final match of the day would be between Spain and Costa Rica at 07:30 UTC.
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