Tournament co-hosts New Zealand Women will kick off the 2023 Women's World Cup on Thursday Morning when they go up against Norway Women at Eden Park in Auckland. New Zealand are making their sixth tournament appearance, while Norway have never missed a Women's World Cup finals. Paired together in Group A alongside Switzerland and the Philippines, all eyes will be on New Zealand Women as they look to end a miserable run of form against the group favourites Norway. They finalised their preparations for the competition with a 1-0 defeat against Italy in a friendly last weekend, thanks to Valentina Giacenti's 23rd-minute strike. Norway, meanwhile, shared the spoils in a six-goal thriller against their Scandinavian neighbours Sweden. An exciting end to the game saw both sides score in injury time, with Frida Leonhardsen-Maanum bagging a brace for the Norwegians. The Grasshoppers booked their spot in the World Cup as group winners in Group F of the qualifiers. For this encounter I am expecting New Zealand to win this opening game with an handicap of +1.5 for the following reasons:

Firstly. While New Zealand will be dreaming about progressing to the knockout rounds, their first priority will be to claim their first-ever win at a World Cup finals. Historically, they have a miserable record at the World Cup. Failing to win all 15 previous matches, drew three and lost twelve, since the first-ever competition in 1991, New Zealand lost all three group games in their last appearance at the finals in 2019. Their recent form also makes for poor reading, with their last 12 internationals yielding one victory, two draws and eight defeats. So, winning this one straight up will be a tough task for them.

Secondly. Norway themselves arrive in Auckland, having also struggled for form in recent months. Winning just one of their last seven matches since last November, they are now winless in each of their last four, including a 4-2 loss against Spain in April. Norway, meanwhile, will be hoping to give a better account of themselves than they did at last year's European Championships, where they were eliminated in the group stage after winning just one of their three matches. As the highest-ranked team in the group, Norway will be confident about their chances of reaching the knockout rounds.

Still, while not quite the force that saw them reach successive WC finals in the 1990s, Norway should still have too much quality for the New Zealand side. However, looking at New Zealand's recent matches, they have not conceded more than a goal in four of their last five matches. Norway might be stronger than them, but they should not be winning them by more than a goal. So, with an handicap of +1.5, I expect New Zealand to win the encounter.

赛事联合主办国新西兰女足将于周四上午在奥克兰伊甸园公园迎战挪威女足，开启2023年女足世界杯的序幕。这是新西兰队第六次参加女足世界杯，而挪威队从未缺席过女足世界杯决赛。与瑞士和菲律宾分在A组，所有人的目光都集中在新西兰女足身上，因为她们希望结束与小组热门挪威队的悲惨状态。由于瓦伦蒂娜·贾琴蒂在第23分钟的进球，他们在上周末的友谊赛中0 - 1击败了意大利队，从而完成了比赛的准备工作。与此同时，挪威队在与斯堪的纳维亚邻国瑞典队的比赛中以6球的比分分享了冠军。比赛结束时双方都在伤停补时阶段进球，弗里达·莱昂哈德森-马努姆为挪威人打进两球。蚱蜢队在预选赛F组中以小组第一的身份获得了世界杯入场券。对于这场比赛，我预计新西兰队将以+1.5的劣势赢得首场比赛，原因如下:

首先。虽然新西兰队将梦想着进入淘汰赛，但他们的首要任务将是在世界杯决赛中赢得首场胜利。从历史上看，他们在世界杯上的战绩很糟糕。自1991年首次参加世界杯以来，新西兰队未能赢得所有15场比赛，3平12负，在2019年最后一次参加决赛时，新西兰队输掉了所有三场小组赛。他们最近的状态也很糟糕，最近12场国际比赛只有1胜2平8负。因此，直接赢得这场比赛对他们来说将是一项艰巨的任务。

其次。挪威队也来到了奥克兰，他们最近几个月的状态也很糟糕。自去年11月以来，他们在最近七场比赛中只赢了一场，现在他们在最近四场比赛中都没有获胜，包括4月4-2输给西班牙。与此同时，挪威队希望能比去年的欧洲杯表现更好，他们在小组赛中三场比赛只赢了一场就被淘汰了。作为小组中排名最高的球队，挪威队对进入淘汰赛充满信心。

尽管挪威的实力不如上世纪90年代连续闯入世界杯决赛圈那样强大，但对于新西兰队来说，挪威的实力仍然很强。然而，看看新西兰队最近的比赛，他们在最近五场比赛中有四场失球不超过一个。挪威可能比他们更强大，但他们不应该以超过一球的优势战胜他们。因此，在胜率为+1.5的情况下，我预计新西兰队将赢得这场比赛。