Produced by: Hitansh Gaur
The ninth edition of FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 began on Thursday at Eden Park in Auckland.
To celebrate the opening day of the Women’s football tournament, Google Doodle has made an online multiplayer game for mobile devices.
Users can start the game by searching ‘Women’s World Cup 2023’ on the search engine.
The opening match between New Zealand and Norway is being played hours after a shooting incident that took place near the hotel of the Norwegian team. Three people including the gunman lost their lives while six others were injured. PM Chris Hipkins said that the incident is not being seen as an act of terrorism and the World Cup will continue as per the schedule.
The tournament takes place every four years with nations around the globe competing to qualify for the tournament. But only 32 teams get a chance to fight for the prestigious trophy.
The United States won the last edition of the tournament in 2019 taking their tally to four trophies in eight tournaments so far. Previously, the US had won in 1991, 1999 and 2015. So, this year they will try to win the tournament third time in a row.
Even though the US holds the record for most trophies, the record for most World Cup goals belongs to the Brazilian player Marta. She has scored 17 goals over the last five tournaments. In FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023, she will be playing her sixth and last World Cup as she announced her retirement earlier this month.
USWNT player and two-time World Cup winner, Megan Rapinoe is also playing her last World Cup after which she will retire at the end of this year’s National Women’s Soccer League. Rapinoe is also an Olympic gold medalist.
Along with her legendary career, Rapinoe is also known for supporting various social causes like gender and pay equity, racial inequality and LGBTQ+ rights. She is the only footballer to win the US' Presidential Medal of Freedom.
This year the FIFA Women’s World Cup is being hosted by the Oceanic nations – Australia and New Zealand for the first time. The tournament began with the first match between co-hosts New Zealand and Norway. The final of the tournament will be played on August 20 at the Stadium Australia in Sydney.