FIFA Women’s World Cup opening game draws record audience in France; Norway 3:0 Nigeria, Spain 3:1 South Africa
June 8, 2019 8:27 pm by georgina.bode – France –
Audience
Paris, June 8, 2019 (Reuters/NAN)
The opening game of the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup in France drew a record 9.83 million viewers in the host nation on Friday, according to figures released on Saturday.
The match against South Korea had the biggest television audience for a France women’s game and a record 45,261 fans attended it.
The match, played at the Parc des Princes, saw Les Bleues thrashing South Korea 4-0 in a Group A fixture.
The French men’s first World Cup 2018 game against Australia was watched by 12.6 million viewers.
Meanwhile, Ada Hegerberg was not needed as Norway kicked off their women’s World Cup Group A campaign with a comprehensive 3-0 victory over Nigeria on Saturday.
Without Ballon d’Or winner Hegerberg, who quit international football in 2017 due to a dispute with her home federation, the 1995 champions relied on goals by Guro Reiten and Lisa-Marie Karlseng Utland.
Also an own goal by Osinachi Ohale helped the Europeans prevail.
The result put Norway in second place in Group A behind hosts France, who thrashed South Korea 4-0 on Friday in the opening game of the month-long tournament in Paris.
Reiten put Norway in front after 17 minutes when she volleyed home from a corner.
Utland doubled the tally with a powerful shot from close range after being set up by Reiten in the 34th.
Three minutes later, three-times African champions Nigeria were completely overwhelmed as Ohale deflected Isabell Herlovsen’s cross into her own goal.
Norway next face France in Nice on Wednesday while Nigeria take on South Korea in Grenoble the same day.
Also, Jennifer Hermoso netted two second half penalty kicks for Spain which came from behind to beat South Africa 3-1 at the FIFA Women’s World Cup on Saturday.
Hermoso scored the two penalty kicks in the 69th and 82nd minutes to give Spain a winning start to their Group B campaign.
That was after South Africa, in their maiden appearance at the finals, took a surprise first half lead.
The first penalty kick came after a handball by South Africa captain, Janine van Wyk, and the second after a follow-through tackle by full-back Nothando Vilakazi on substitute Lucia Garcia.
The tackle also earned Vilakazi a second yellow card and a dismissal.
South Africa were on for a shock win after Thembi Kgatlana struck a powerful shot from the corner of the penalty area.
It went over the head of Spain goalkeeper Sandra Panos in the 25th minute.
The goal came after the South Africans had weathered Spain’s early dominance with desperate defending and then began to look threatening on the counter-attack.
African Women’s Footballer of the Year Kgatlana could have made it 2-0 but fluffed a tap-in opportunity at the back post in the 57th minute.
That was not long after Hermoso had come close to an equaliser by striking the crossbar.
But Spain’s superior fitness saw them dominate the last half hour and there were other chances for a more commanding scoreline.
Garcia’s goal came from a ball straight down the middle of the pitch as she outsprinted the defence.
