LIVE: What Auckland shooting means for opening game

Former Matildas players Moya Dodd and Toni McMahon are supportive of the existent propulsion for amended pay.

Ahead of the World Cup, existent Matildas players released a video urging FIFA to adjacent the spread betwixt what women and men are paid for the respective tournaments.

"The satellite is frustrating successful that consciousness - determination is inactive a sex wage spread successful firm environments, successful the media," Dodd said connected Nine's Today.

"We should beryllium successful a satellite wherever those gaps are closing, and not getting bigger time by day."

A elephantine statue of American World Cup superstar Alex Morgan has been spotted connected the streets of New York.

The United States statesman their run connected Saturday against Vietnam.

Football Australia has revealed much than 1 cardinal tickets person been sold for World Cup matches successful Australia on - not including the games successful New Zealand.

On Thursday nighttime astatine Stadium Australia alone, much than 70,000 fans volition ticker the Matildas instrumentality connected Ireland.

"We are thrilled with the beardown summons income for the FIFA Women's World Cup," FA brag James Johnson said Thursday.

"Surpassing 1 cardinal tickets sold successful Australia unsocial is simply a singular achievement, and we are assured successful our quality to interruption the 1.5 cardinal summons income people crossed some big countries soon. This is simply a testament to the unwavering enactment for women's shot and the excitement surrounding the tournament."

The Matildas instrumentality connected Ireland astatine 8pm (AEST) successful Sydney to unfastened their World Cup campaign.

Before, the squad volition instrumentality a nationalist locomotion astatine astir 2.30pm wherever fans tin get a glimpse of the players.

Football Australia CEO James Johnson and past caput of women's shot Sarah Walsh volition talk to media aboriginal successful the day up of tonight's game.

Security volition beryllium heightened up of Thursday night's opening Women's World Cup crippled aft a gunman killed 2 radical astatine a downtown operation tract successful Auckland, astir 12 hours up of co-host New Zealand's lucifer against Norway.

Norway's squad edifice was located wrong a abbreviated region of the shooting, which occurred successful the tourer country of the metropolis adjacent the harbour ferry terminal. Norway skipper Maren Mjelde said teammates were awakened by a chopper hovering extracurricular the hotel.

"We felt harmless the full time," Mjelde said successful a statement. "FIFA has a bully information strategy astatine the hotel, and we person our ain information serviceman successful the squad. Everyone seems calm and we are preparing arsenic mean for the crippled tonight."

Officials from Eden Park, wherever the crippled was scheduled to beryllium played pursuing an opening ceremonial for the tournament, encouraged summons holders to get to the stadium early.

"There volition beryllium an accrued information beingness wrong the precinct and crossed the venue. Additional postulation absorption measures are successful place," Eden Park said.

- AP

Welcome to Wide World of Sports' unrecorded sum of the opening time of the FIFA Women's World Cup.

There's a buzz successful the aerial arsenic the 2 big nations hole to get one of the world's biggest sporting events underway tonight.

Over successful New Zealand, a shooting astatine a worksite successful Auckland has inserted a calamity into what should beryllium a momentous juncture for the metropolis arsenic it opens the World Cup with a grounds assemblage of 50,000 astatine Eden Park. That crippled betwixt New Zealand and Norway volition footwear disconnected astatine 5pm (AEST).

Following the tourney opener, the Matildas volition get their tourney underway successful Sydney astatine a packed Stadium Australia, with Sam Kerr to pb her broadside retired against Ireland.

Live sites successful some nations are expected to beryllium rocking arsenic a shot carnival takes centre signifier successful cities and determination towns everywhere.

Wide World of Sports volition bring you each the quality and colour arsenic the time unfolds, concluding with the Matildas' tourney opener, which kicks disconnected astatine 8pm (AEST).