New Zealand captain Ali Riley breaks down in tears in his post-match interview after securing a first-ever World Cup win against co-hosts Norway.
New Zealand beat Norway 1–0 in the opening match of the Women’s World Cup, which was New Zealand’s first win in their sixth appearance at the World Cup.
New Zealand captain Ali Riley gave an emotional post-match interview after leading her country to their first win at the Women’s World Cup.
After an impressive opening ceremony, co-hosts began their campaign against Norway, aiming to finally secure victory in their sixth appearance at the world tournament.
Hannah Wilkinson’s goal three minutes after the break saw them take a narrow 1-0 win and Rea Percival could extend their lead late on when he saw a penalty rebound off the crossbar.
It didn’t matter, though, as New Zealand held on for three points, and Riley was overcome with emotion at the final whistle.
“I’m very proud, we’ve been fighting for this for so long,” Riley said in a post-match interview.
Hannah Wilkinson scored the only goal of New Zealand’s game against Norway on Thursday
It was New Zealand’s first World Cup win in their sixth final
Captain Ali Riley was close to tears as he spoke of his pride after the final whistle
‘We had a clear goal that we wanted to inspire young girls, young people in this country and around the world. And I really think we did that tonight. Everything is possible.’
‘I think there was a lot of skepticism because of our results but we believed. We believed in ourselves this whole game, we believed in ourselves from the start and we showed it.
‘We played with confidence and poise, Vic (goalkeeper Victoria Esson) was incredible, the defending was incredible, and the end… that’s what dreams are made of.’
Only 42,000 fans attended the match, a record crowd for a football match in New Zealand.
Riley thanked the fans for cheering the side on, and paid tribute to the victims of a mass shooting in Auckland that left at least two civilians dead just hours before the match.
‘Shakti helped us get through it. Something really sad happened this morning, and we wanted to bring something positive tonight. And we thought of the victims and the first responders, and they made us so proud. And we wanted to help bring something amazing to today.’
New Zealand will return to action next Tuesday against the Philippines before finishing their group against Switzerland on July 30.