FIFA Women's World Cup: New Zealand dealt with an embarassing exit in the first round

FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 co-host New Zealand have crashed out of the tournament after a goalless draw against Switzerland at the Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin on Sunday. The Kiwis were pitted in Group A of the tournament along with Switzerland, Norway, and Philippines. They finished third in the standings after the end of three matches below Switzerland and Norway who ended up in the top two spots respectively.

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The home side gave their final group stage match their all, attempting 12 shots. However, efficiency was lacking in the frontline as only three of those shots landed on target. They had kicked off their campaign in style, having notched a 1-0 win against Norway earlier this month. Philippines piped them to a 1-0 victory in the second match and the dynamics of the group were such that the team needed a win in this game to seal a top two slot.

The Swiss team rounded off the group stage without a single loss to their name. They bagged five points courtesy of a win and two draws in three matches and got the top spot. The Norwegian side won, lost, and drew once each to bring curtains down to the three games with the same number of points as New Zealand. However, their goal difference was a positive five, in comparison to New Zealand who scored and conceded only a single goal in the tournament.