Hannah Wilkinson scored to open the second half and New Zealand went on to upset Norway 1-0 on Thursday for its first-ever win at the Women’s World Cup.
New Zealand’s Football Ferns had played in five previous World Cups, but hadn’t won a match.
“We really wanted to inspire young girls across the nation and I think we did that tonight. We showed that anything is possible,” said captain Ali Riley, who had happy tears in her eyes.
Norway couldn’t finish off its chances in the first half while the Ferns defended well. Ada Hegerberg’s attempt in the 37th minute was deftly defended by Rebekah Stott and the match was scoreless after the first half.