The Australians without Kerr beat Ireland with a penalty in front of a record crowd in Sydney

July 20 – Shaken by the forced withdrawal of tournament headliner skipper Sam Kerr, co-hosts Australia got off to a winning start in the Women's World Cup with a 1-0 victory over the Republic of Ireland.

Steph Catley swept away a 52nd-minute penalty to end Ireland's resistance and spark huge celebrations among the 75,784 fans at Stadium Australia in Sydney, a record for an Australian women's team game.

Kerr, who will also miss the second Group B game against Nigeria, suffered a calf injury in training on Wednesday but at the final whistle was on the pitch arm in arm with her Matildas teammates after being pushed to the limit by the unsung Irish women playing in their maiden World Cup

The crowd only learned of Kerr's injury about an hour before kick-off and it's not even certain she'll be back to face Canada in the team's final group game in Melbourne on July 31.

Mary Fowler, who has Irish heritage, replaced Kerr in Australia's attack but her absence has clearly taken its toll, with the co-hosts - one of the tournament's favorite sides - lacking a decisive advantage.

"It's amazing to get the win, I think it's the longest accumulation of a game in my entire life," Catley told reporters. “To lose a player like Sam, probably the best player in the world and her as a person, obviously we were heartbroken. We had to use his spirit… to help us move forward. She's so, so important, she's our spiritual leader."

Sydney's result means both co-hosts started the tournament with victories, after New Zealand stunned Norway earlier by the same scoreline in Auckland.

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