“We’ve been fighting for this for so long,” Ali Riley said, smiling through the tears. The New Zealand captain had waited more than most, winless at her four previous World Cups, part of a run that stretched back even further than that. Without a victory in 15 attempts at the tournament, New Zealand entered their own World Cup with unwanted history hanging over them. Facing Norway in their opening match, that winless run was expected to continue. How Hannah Wilkinson’s goal changed that. In a stunning upset, New Zealand altered the narrative, providing the World Cup with its first shock that will ripple not just in Group A but throughout the tournament. With a victory in their most difficult game of the group stages, New Zealand can now set their sights higher and target a place in the knockouts. They will have momentum on their side when they face Switzerland and the Philippines. Such moments can change expectations, as well as perceptions. It had been noted before kick-off that while pre-tournament excitement and buzz was palpable in Australia, particularly in Sydney ahead of the Matildas’ opening game against Ireland, in New Zealand it was far more low-key. Compared to the neighbours, New Zealand hadn’t generated the same interest in terms of tickets sold across the country. A reason for that is because Australia can win the World Cup. As hosts, they are aware of the opportunity they have to change society, as shown by England’s historic win at the Euros last summer, and are inspired by the chance to provide the country its biggest sporting moment since Cathy Freeman and the 2000 Olympics. Having an international star like Sam Kerr creates hope that such an achievement can be possible. New Zealand aren’t there yet - but they will now believe they can make that change happen, as well. “We had a clear goal that we wanted to inspire young girls, young people in this country and around the world and I think we did that tonight,” the 35-year-old Riley said. A moment such as Wilkinson’s goal, which came after a fine breakaway and cross from the forward Jacqui Hand, can be the spark, and not just for them. There are eight teams who will be making their World Cup debuts over the next week, and with the same fundamentals of organisation and commitment that New Zealand showed in restraining Norway, they too will hope to close the gap to the established nations. New Zealand had the advantage of being a host country, even if preparations for their opening match would have been disrupted by the shocking news of a mass shooting in Auckland on the morning of the tournament. But in front of a sold-out crowd of over 42,000 at Eden Park, New Zealand lived up to the role of underdog hosts superbly. For a team who had gone 10 games without a win until beating Vietnam before the World Cup, they were motivated by the occasion and upset the odds. Norway had the star quality - in Ada Hegerberg, Caroline Graham Hansen, Guro Reiten and Frida Maanum - but New Zealand believed in the collective. Riley led the way as she marked Graham Hansen out of the game - there was only one moment midway through the first half where the Barcelona star found the space to burst away, but the defender tracked it, shutting down the cross. When Norway had other half-chances, New Zealand found the blocks they needed. It’s an upset that asks questions of Norway, of course, after their shambolic group-stage exit at the Euros last summer. Hege Riise was brought in to repair the damage, but Norway were still far too open and unorganised in defence, while lacking cohesion in attack. “There have been a lot of doubters because of the results we had, but we believed,” Riley said. Now others at the World Cup will feel that too. Read More Australia relief after Women’s World Cup opener reveals significance of Sam Kerr injury Women’s World Cup teams: Every squad and key players to watch What TV channel is the Women’s World Cup on? How to watch every match New Zealand squad stayed calm after hearing of Auckland shooting Australia relief after World Cup opener reveals significance of Sam Kerr injury Women’s World Cup teams: Every squad and key players to watch

Chelsea head coach Mauricio Pochettino has discussed Christopher Nkunku's position after he came on as a striker in their 5-0 pre-season win against Wrexham.

Baseball fans were left open-mouthed as a scoreboard operator displayed a harsh breakup message for a woman named “Becky” on the big screen. The display at the Colorado Rockies ballpark was meant to show pre-game notes before the match – but instead a searing message for the operator’s presumably now former partner. “Using a stethoscope to listen to the heart, cardiologists can detect narrow valves, valve leakage, and/or abnormal rhythm,” the screen read. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter It added: “Don't bother asking him to check YOUR heart though, Becky. “That crushed Titanic sub has more life inside it than that collapsed troll cave you call a chest cavity.” Social media was immediately ablaze with speculation as to who Becky could be. Suzie Hunter, a Rockies reporter, said: “Whoever runs the scoreboard at Coors Field is NOT OKAY." Fox Sports MLB analyst and podcast host Ben Verlander said: “Becky. We need to talk”. “This is one hell of a way to get fired,” wrote CBS Sports baseball editor Nick Stellini. In reality, there may not even be a Becky. The Rockies have been known to run a similar message on the board before. One Twitter user posted an image of the scoreboard referencing Becky on another occasion. “Most Coloradans experience ‘Sweater Weather’ up to six months of the year, starting in early September. “Except my ex-girlfriend, who probably needs a cardigan year-round because of her ice cube of a heart. Seriously, Becky... your insides are so frozen, at this point you should just change your name to Elsa.” Meanwhile, Baseball Twitter account Eephus Tosser posted four other instances of more-than-suspect “game notes”. “Moving at a normal pace, it would take 125 hours to walk 500 miles (and another 125 hours to walk 500 more). Baby, I love you, but I'll just go ahead and hop that Southwest flight to Calgary. XXOOXO,” read one message referencing the famous Proclaimers song. Another one said: “Humans spend about half their waking hours thinking about something other than what they're actually doing in the present. Some methods to pull yourself back into the here & now: -Breathe -Meditate -Do something physical - Just go ahead and check the hockey score, then get back to your Elvis Shake.” Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Today's USMNT news includes Weston McKennie being linked with Atalanta.Alan Sonora has been offered to Nacional andLennard Maloney has said he wants to represent the Stars and Stripes.USMNT news: Weston McKennie to AtalantaIt was reported that Juventus had frozen out Weston McKennie. Howeve...

Australia got off to a winning start at the Women’s World Cup by beating Ireland 1-0 despite the absence of star striker Sam Kerr

South African amateur Christo Lamprecht took a surprise clubhouse lead on the first morning of the 151st British Open...

An Australian side missing injured superstar Sam Kerr made a winning start to their home Women's World Cup on Thursday with a nervy 1-0 victory over debutants Ireland in front...

New Zealand coach Jitka Klimkova described seeing her team claim the country's historic first World Cup win -- men or women -- as...

Daniel Ricciardo has admitted he is daring to dream about a return to Red Bull ahead of his Formula One comeback at the Hungarian Grand Prix. Ricciardo’s career looked to be all but over after he was dumped by McLaren following two underwhelming seasons with the British team. But the popular 34-year-old has been handed a second chance, replacing Nyck de Vries at Red Bull’s junior team AlphaTauri for the concluding dozen rounds of the year, starting at the Hungaroring on Sunday. Ricciardo impressed during a test at Silverstone for Red Bull last Tuesday, and given Sergio Perez’s torrid run of form – which has seen him fall 99 points adrift of team-mate Max Verstappen – AlphaTauri’s move to hire the Australian will fuel speculation that he could land a return to the team which carried him to seven of his eight victories. And speaking at the world champions’ packed motorhome on Thursday, Ricciardo said: “The dream is a Red Bull seat, but there is no ‘this is what you need to do’ to achieve that. “Given what has happened over the past few years and taking time off, I knew it would be hard to get back in at the top. “Of course that was my wish, but you need to be realistic, and if I want to get back into Red Bull it will be a process, and this is the best path for me at the moment. “You know what they are like here. They are not telling me to take it easy, they want me to show them what I have got, but there is no criteria. “And in terms of expectations there are none. I want to be in the moment, enjoying it, and not thinking too far ahead.” Ricciardo’s reputation in the sport is on the line following his poor period with McLaren which saw the British team move to cancel his contract. Ricciardo failed to land a seat for the 2023 campaign and instead elected to return to Red Bull as a reserve driver. But he might struggle to impress with a team rooted to the foot of the constructors’ table, taking just two points from the first 10 races. However, Ricciardo added: “Over the past few years, I started falling into a trap where I believed the car does not suit me and you can be your own worst enemy. I know this car will have limitations but I will work with that. “Getting this opportunity is a chance to make things better. That is why I am excited to get back behind the wheel and show my true self. “I had enough time off to reset and also enjoy it again. Six months ago, I wasn’t at a place to jump at an opportunity like this but that has been the luxury of time. “I have fallen in love with it again and I feel myself in an environment that provides me with a lot of nostalgia, so when the opportunity came along it was like, ‘let’s try it’.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live How does Max Verstappen and Red Bull compare to the greats of Formula One? Lando Norris ‘honoured’ to join Lewis Hamilton in battle for Formula One glory Lando Norris calls finishing runner-up at British Grand Prix ‘pretty insane’

Mikel Arteta has hinted at utilising new Arsenal signing Kai Havertz as a 'target man' and as an attacking midfielder. The 24-year-old scored his first goal for the club in a 5-0 win over MLS All-Stars.

Two people were killed and multiple injured in a shooting in Auckland, New Zealand, just hours ahead of the opening match of the Fifa Women’s World Cup match. A gunman, 24, stormed into a high-rise construction site at 1 Queen Street in downtown Auckland on Thursday morning, around 7.20am local time. The man, who is believed to be a construction worker at the site, entered the building armed with a pump-action shotgun and moved through the building, firing bullets. After reaching the upper levels, he contained himself within an elevator shaft, where he fired more shots before being found dead a short time later. An officer was injured in the shooting, as well as four members of the public. Security was boosted before the opening Women’s World Cup game after the shooting which took place near the hotel of the Norwegian team, who were scheduled to play in the opening match later on the same day. Auckland has welcomed thousands of international players and tourists for the ninth Women’s World Cup which is being co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand. On Thursday, New Zealand was taking on Norway in the opening. Officials from Eden Park, where the game is being played after an opening ceremony for the tournament, encouraged fans to arrive at the stadium early. “There will be an increased security presence within the precinct and across the venue. Additional traffic management measures are in place,” Eden Park said. Several players took to social media to report they were safe. “All seems calm, and we are preparing as normal for the match tonight,” Norway captain Maren Mjelde told Norwegian newspaper Verdens Gang during the police operation. Italy and the US team’s training was delayed as players could not get out of their hotel. A US Soccer spokesperson said the American players were just getting up for breakfast inside the hotel when the incident occurred. “Our security sort of immediately liaised with the local authorities and Department of State. We determined immediately that everybody was safe and accounted for and from then on we just had to wait it out,” Aaron Heifetz told reporters. Douglas Emhoff, the husband of US vice president Kamala Harris who is leading the presidential delegation to New Zealand for the opening ceremony of the World Cup, is safe, the US embassy said. Prime minister Chris Hipkins said the soccer tournament would proceed as planned, adding the shooting appeared to be the actions of an individual and that police were not seeking anyone else in relation to the incident. “There was no identified political or ideological motivation for the shooting and therefore no national security risk,” Mr Hipkins said during a televised media briefing. There would be no change to New Zealand’s security threat level although there would be an increased police presence in the city, he said. “Obviously we would prefer it not to have started in this way,” Mr Hipkins told journalists later in the day. “It will be acknowledged what happened today at the opening ceremony. And I will be going, it is safe to go and we continue to encourage the whole community to get behind this,” he said. Additional reporting by agencies. Read More Women’s World Cup 2023 LIVE: New Zealand stun Norway as Sam Kerr ruled out of Australia opener New Zealand shooting: Armed police guard construction site where gunman killed two Women’s World Cup opener ‘proceeds as planned’ despite fatal Auckland shooting Women's World Cup team from Philippines has American flavor Women’s World Cup to ‘proceed as planned’ after shooting in Auckland Cases of anti-Muslim hate ‘have more than doubled’ in a decade

Here are five players that could move away from Brazil in big transfers in the near future.