The 2023 Women’s World Cup is in full swing, and these daily files will give you the latest reporting from around the tournament as well as betting lines, what-to-watch-for information and best reads. Check in with ESPN throughout the tournament as we bring you the latest from Australia and New Zealand.
The lead: New Zealand’s World Cup ends early as Norway thrash Philippines
DUNEDIN, New Zealand — Despite a 0-0 draw with Switzerland adding to what has been their best tournament showing, New Zealand has been eliminated from the Women’s World Cup. Heartbreak, despair and thoughts of what could have been now rule the thoughts of the Football Ferns and Aotearoa as a footballing nation, accompanied by the tears that were shed on the surface in Dunedin following the final whistle.
And what will haunt even more is that those what-ifs don’t require far-fetched twists of fate to produce widely different outcomes, just the bounce of a ball or one delayed step to forever alter the trajectory of women’s football in New Zealand. What if Jacqui Hand‘s effort against the Philippines hadn’t struck the post and bounced out, for…
