Women's World Cup: Spain and Switzerland start with a win

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 The Women's World Cup has started!

There has been some great action on display already, let's explore some of the interesting stories that are already developing.

Before the tournament started, we published this preview: Women's World Cup: Preview (eurosuperfootball.blogspot.com)

Women's World Cup matchday 1 - 1

Spain 3 - 0 Costa Rica

Spain dominated Costa Rica in their Women's World Cup opener in Wellington. They took the lead through Valeria del Campo's own goal, followed by Aitana Bonmati's second goal two minutes later.

After Jennifer Hermoso headed against the crossbar, Esther Gonzalez added a third after Daniela Solera saved a penalty.

Spain scored three goals despite several fine saves from Solera and Olga Carmona.Their dominance was evident in the match stats, as they attempted 46 shots at goal, including 12 on target, while Costa Rica, ranked 36th in the world, only attempted one shot.

You can find more Spanish football news here

Additionally, Spain had 80% possession and 22 corners compared to one for their opponents. A fantastic performance from the Spanish side. 

You can watch some of the highlights in the video below. Footage from ITV Sport - YouTube.

Philippines 0 - 2 Switzerland

In Dunedin, New Zealand, Switzerland opened their 2023 Fifa Women's World Cup campaign with a 2-0 victory over debutants the Philippines.

In the 64th minute, Seraina Piubel added a close-range goal to Ramona Bachman's penalty to give the Swiss the lead.

Katrina Guillou thought she had scored her nation's first World Cup goal after 16 minutes, but her goal was quickly ruled out for offside.

Switzerland tops Group A on goal difference, above co-hosts New Zealand.

Australia 1 - 0 Republic of Ireland

Steph Catley's second-half penalty gave the competition's co-hosts Australia a 1-0 victory over the Republic of Ireland in Sydney.

Catley converted the winner in the 52nd minute. The Republic of Ireland had managed to frustrate the Matildas in the first half. However, their good work was undone when Marissa Sheva pushed Hayley Raso and Brazilian referee Edina Alves to point to the spot.

For the Irish side, Megan Connolly, Katie McCabe and Louise Quinn all came close to what would have been a famous equaliser. The hosts held on to start their World Cup campaign with a win. The group is remarkably open though now.

Ireland's Katie McCabe added on Twitter: "Last night was incredible - thank you to all our fans for the amazing atmosphere you created last night for us💚 disappointed we couldn’t get more from the game, but we’ll rest up, recover and go again."

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