Just Women’s Sports is here with your daily World Cup Digest, breaking down all of the biggest storylines from the first day of action in Australia and New Zealand.

Today’s top news: Sam Kerr misses Australia opener

Sam Kerr missed Australia’s World Cup opener Thursday after picking up a calf injury during training Wednesday. While the Matildas still secured a 1-0 win against Ireland, their all-time leading scorer will be out for at least the next game. The team will “re-assess her following our second group-stage match,” so she could return for July 31 match against Canada.

“Unfortunately I sustained a calf injury yesterday in training,” Kerr said in a statement. “I wanted to share this with everyone so there is no distraction from 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.”

Australia head coach Tony Gustavsson called the injury “devastating” and said after the win that the team did not know the extent of Kerr’s injury until 9:30 p.m. local time Wednesday. He asked for understanding on the decision to not reveal that information sooner, explaining that the team didn’t give “too much” away to Ireland.

“Once we came to the stadium, we didn’t play any type of mind games, we just were honest with the team sheet,” he said. “She wasn’t in the starting lineup. We went out with the news saying she’s injured, she couldn’t play. But we wanted to wait until the last second when we come to the stadium to not give away too much in tournament football.”

He also noted he was proud of the way that his team responded to Kerr’s absence, particularly once she stepped away during training Wednesday.

Kerr undeniably was missed in the Matildas’ opening game, but the team still prevailed thanks to a penalty kick from defender Steph Catley that put the home side up 1-0 – which remained the final score despite a number of late challenges by Ireland.

“My heart really breaks for Sammy. I know she wants to be out there, I know she wants to be a part of these two games,” Australia’s Elise Kellond-Knight said. “Luckily there’s another 22 players on this team. The team isn’t just Sam Kerr. … We’ve got so much depth. If anything, it’s kind of great that we can rest Sam and afford to put her on the sidelines and then look at our other players and create our attacks through those players.”

Today’s top highlight: Ali Riley’s reaction to New Zealand’s first WC win

New Zealand got the upset party going Thursday with its 1-0 victory over Norway – the first World Cup win for a New Zealand team, men’s or women’s. Hannah Wilkinson provided the lone goal of the match, a beautiful strike that electrified the crowd of 42,137 fans in attendance.

New Zealand had never won or even hosted a Women’s World Cup match…

Today they upset Norway IN New Zealand with a crowd of 42,137 fans, the largest soccer crowd the nation has ever seen 🤯

(via @FOXSoccer, h/t @FOS) pic.twitter.com/jujm6Hi1jT

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) July 20, 2023

Following the win, captain Ali Riley gave an emotional interview, noting that she thought the Football Ferns “deserved” the win.

“I’m so, so proud. We’ve been fighting for this for so long and we had a clear goal, that we wanted to inspire young girls, young people around this country and around the world,” she said. “And I really think we did that tonight. Anything is possible.”

Ali Riley reacting after a historic win for New Zealand, and yes we might have cried a little. 🥺

🎥 @FOXSoccerpic.twitter.com/oE7czGzXRc

— Attacking Third (@AttackingThird) July 20, 2023

Today’s results:

So far, so good for the host countries, as both New Zealand and Australia prevailed in their opening matches.

• New Zealand 1 — Norway 0
• Australia 1 — Ireland 0

More World Cup news to know:

• A shooting in Auckland, New Zealand, left three people dead, including the gunman, and five others injured. Many players were staying in hotels close to the site of the shooting, which also was not far from the fan zone. Lynn Williams and Crystal Dunn spoke on the USWNT’s mindset following the devastating incident.
• Want to get to know the USWNT’s first group stage opponent before tomorrow night? Take a look at Just Women’s Sports’ scouting report on Vietnam. 
• Want to get a better idea of who could be in the starting lineup for the USWNT? Just Women’s Sports’ Claire Watkins has you covered.

The 2025 Wimbledon Championships wrapped its second round on Thursday, with the grass court Grand Slam seeing just 15 of the tournament's 32 seeded players advance to the Friday and Saturday's third round.

A full half of the WTA's Top 10 players did not survive the week, with 2024 Wimbledon finalist and world No. 5 Jasmine Paolini joining four first-round star exits by falling to unseeded Kamilla Rakhimova in a three-set, second-round battle on Wednesday.

At the same time, unseeded fan favorites like Japan's No. 53 Naomi Osaka and England's own No. 40 Emma Raducanu secured third-round spots at the London Slam, joining top surviving contenders like No. 4 Iga Świątek and defending Wimbledon champion No. 16 Barbora Krejčíková.

Notably, a full five US players managed to move ahead, tied for the largest national contingent still standing at the tournament.

Led by 2025 Australian Open champion No. 8 Madison Keys, the US group also includes No. 10 Emma Navarro and No. 12 Amanda Anisimova, as well as unseeded players No. 54 Danielle Collins and No. 55 Hailey Baptiste.

With matches against Świątek and No. 7 Mirra Andreeva, respectively, Collins and Baptiste have a tough third round ahead — though Navarro's battle against the 2024 champ Krejčíková arguably headlines Saturday's slate.

How to watch Wimbledon this weekend

While world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka is still holding strong in the dwindling field, this year's Wimbledon play is proving that the London Slam is anyone's to take, as the grass court humbles even the sport's top stars.

Expect the twists and turns to continue as tennis's best battle for spots in Sunday's Round of 16.

Round-of-32 Wimbledon play kicks off at 6 AM ET on Friday, with live continuous coverage of the tournament airing on ESPN.

The 2025 European Championship is officially underway, as Euro action kicked off with a group-stage upset on Wednesday.

Though the 2025 UEFA tournament's opener was a sweltering affair amid a European heat wave, world No. 26 Finland prevailed, earning a 1-0 upset win over No. 14 Iceland in Group A.

Finnish winger Katariina Kosola played hero, curling in the winning goal in the match's 70th minute — just 12 minutes after Iceland midfielder Hildur Antonsdóttir picked up the competition's first red card.

"The result is important for our confidence," Kosola said after Finland's first major tournament win since the 2009 Euro. "It was the kind of goal I have been practicing a lot."

"It's terrible to lose and we feel frustrated," said Iceland head coach Thorsteinn Halldórsson. "It is an even group and we knew Finland were good, but our first half wasn't good enough."

Elsewhere, No. 16 Norway closed out Wednesday's slate on top of Group A, taking three points by defeating host No. 23 Switzerland in day's second match.

Led by captain and 2018 Ballon d'Or winner Ada Hegerberg — who pulled the match even with a second-half strike — Norway battled to a 2-1 comeback win, despite the Swiss side outshooting and out-possessing the Norwegians.

How to watch this week's 2025 Euro action

Group B steals the 2025 Euro spotlight on Thursday.

While No. 13 Italy snagged a 1-0 opening win over No. 20 Belgium to kick off the day, 2023 World Cup champions and tournament favorite No. 2 Spain will face No. 22 Portugal at 3 PM ET.

Friday's Group C slate will pit No. 12 Denmark against No. 6 Sweden at 12 PM ET, before No. 3 Germany contends with No. 27 Poland at 3 PM ET.

Closing out the first group-stage matches will be arguably the toughest draw of the 2025 Euro pool.

Saturday's Group D slate features major tournament debutants No. 30 Wales against the No. 11 Netherlands at 12 PM ET, with No. 10 France taking on defending champions No. 5 England to cap the day at 3 PM ET.

Live coverage of 2025 Euro matches will air across Fox Sports platforms.

The world No. 1 USWNT ruled the pitch on Wednesday night, shutting out North American rivals No. 8 Canada 3-0 to finish the international window on a high note.

Catching the Canada backline sleeping, US midfielder Sam Coffey opened the scoring at the 17-minute mark before 19-year-old Claire Hutton claimed her first-ever USWNT goal by heading in a Rose Lavelle corner kick in the game's 36th minute.

Houston Dash forward Yazmeen Ryan then padded the US tally in the waning minutes of the match, finding the back of the net just eight minutes after subbing onto the field.

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Despite fielding a young roster, the US overpowered a veteran-heavy Canada side in almost every category, topping their Northern neighbors in shots, shots on target, possession, and — most notably — set pieces.

Canada ultimately couldn't match the game's mental pace or physical battle, as the USWNT scored all three goals off dead ball situations — a free kick, a corner kick, and a throw-in.

"It's not about the opponent," US head coach Emma Hayes said after the match. "It's about what we do, and I felt that was extremely dominant."

With Wednesday's contributions, the USWNT finishes the summer window with 11 goals scored across the three friendlies — and zero goals conceded.

The US now enters an extended break before reconvening for another as-yet-unannounced friendly series in October — but players will be expected to perform in the meantime.

"I said to the players in the end in the huddle, if you want to compete to win the biggest things, it's not what you do here that matters," said Hayes. "It's what you do when you go back to your club."

The 2025 WNBA regular season returns on Thursday night, with teams at the top of the league standings looking to prove their mettle against close competition across the long holiday weekend.

The No. 5 Seattle Storm have arguably the toughest weekend assignments, taking on the No. 4 Atlanta Dream on Friday before tackling the No. 3 New York Liberty on Sunday.

Four middle-of-the-pack teams will look to close in on a double-digit season win tally while the league's frontrunners strive to maintain their advantage in this weekend's slate:

• No. 7 Las Vegas Aces vs. No. 8 Indiana Fever, Thursday at 7 PM ET (Prime): Though still without star Caitlin Clark, the Fever hope to harness their 2025 WNBA Commissioner's Cup victory momentum against an Aces side tied with Indiana with an 8-8 season record.

• No. 5 Seattle Storm vs. No. 4 Atlanta Dream, Thursday at 7:30 PM ET (WNBA League Pass): Seattle will look to make strides against a strong Atlanta side while putting last Sunday's stinging 84-57 loss to up-and-comer Golden State in their rearview.

• No. 6 Golden State Valkyries vs. No. 1 Minnesota Lynx, Saturday at 8 PM ET (WNBA League Pass): The rising Valkyries must face a Lynx side hunting redemption, as the league-leaders look to bounce back from their stifling Tuesday Commissioner's Cup upset loss.

• No. 5 Seattle Storm vs. No. 3 New York Liberty, Sunday at 1 PM ET (CBS): With injured Liberty center Jonquel Jones still sidelined, the Seattle Storm will have a chance to steal a weekend game against the reigning champs, as New York struggles to re-find their footing.

With the 2025 WNBA All-Star break looming, early top performers must keep standards high if they want to hold the line when the season crosses the midway point.