- Australia 1-0 Republic of Ireland FULL-TIME
- New Zealand 1-0 Norway FULL-TIME
Ireland went behind against the joint-hosts Australia after 52 minutes, thanks to a penalty from captain Steph Cantley after Marissa Sheva was found to have pushed Hayley Raso.
Ireland have been taking more chances since the goal and have been threatening to get an equalizer but cannot get on the end of any set-pieces that Katie McCabe launches into the box.
Australia seemed content with soaking up the pressure and taking the one-goal margin, but Ireland are now throwing the kitchen sink at them trying to salvage something from their World Cup debut.
A late surge of energy by Ireland created some drama for the fans across the isle and the world, when Katie McCabe broke free to get a shot off against Mackenzie Arnold in the Aussie goal, who had to stretch to keep the joint-hosts ahead.
Ireland can now look forward to a match against Canada, with the pressure on to keep them within a chance of progressing to the round of 16 knockout stage.
The Republic of Ireland players were playing in front of over 75,000 screaming supporters at a sold-out Sydney stadium, with the hopes of a nation and a new generation of fans on the other side of the world resting firmly on their shoulders.
Ireland's first-half performance was one of patience and resilience, with Australia constantly blitzing their back four despite the Matildas missing their star striker, Sam Kerr.
There have been very few chances for the Republic of Ireland but they have remained positive in their play and always looked to play the ball forward and will hope to build on that in the second half.
It emerged this morning that Australia captain Sam Kerr will sit out the next two matches of her home Women's World Cup with a calf injury.
The Chelsea striker is Australia's all-time goalscorer of either gender with 63 goals across 121 caps, but she was to watch Thursday's opener against the Republic of Ireland from the bench after sustaining the injury during a training session on Wednesday.
Australia next face Nigeria on July 27 and will hope Kerr is fit enough to start their final group stage match on July 31 against Olympic champions Canada, the highest FIFA-ranked Group B nation.
Read more:
- Today at the World Cup: Co-hosts Australia and New Zealand play in opening games
- The Republic of Ireland's Group B opponents - When they play, where you can watch it and what to expect
- I want to score at the World Cup: Ireland hero Amber Barrett
- Katie McCabe urges Republic of Ireland to harness spirit of underdog Down Under
A Matildas tweet read: "Sam Kerr is unavailable tonight after she picked up a calf injury at training on MD-1.
"Sam will be unavailable for the next two matches, with the Matildas medical team to reassess her following our second group-stage match."
Football Writers' Association women's footballer of the year Kerr, (29) took to Instagram to express her disappointment in a post that read: "Unfortunately I sustained a calf injury yesterday in training.
"I wanted to share this with everyone so there is no distraction from us doing what we came here to achieve.
"Of course, I would have loved to have been out there tonight but I can't wait to be a part of this amazing journey which starts now."
The Women’s World Cup opener in Auckland “proceeded as planned” after a shooting in the city’s central business district on Thursday morning left three people dead.
Co-hosts New Zealand and Norway observed a moment of silence for the victims before the tournament kicked off at Eden Park at 0800BST.
New Zealand opened in stunning style against Norway as they won on the global stage for the first time.
On a memorable night in Auckland, the Football Ferns produced a huge upset when Hannah Wilkinson finished off a sweeping counter-attack just after half-time.
