CNN —Just five days into the 2023 Women’s World Cup and many of the tournament underdogs are already making a name for themselves. On Thursday New Zealand won its first Women’s World Cup game by beating Norway. Even if results haven’t gone the way of the smaller teams, many games have been much closer than expected. “Once upon a time, the US in particular was very dominant but you see the gap is closing and the smaller nations are jumping on that bandwagon,” Donaldson added. It was the first point the Reggae Girlz had earned at a World Cup, having only played one previous tournament.

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Persons: CNN —, Lorne Donaldson, ”, “, USWNT, ” Donaldson, Mark Baker, Bunny ’ Shaw, Girlz, Donaldson, Jamaica’s Deneisha Blackwood, we’ve Organizations: CNN, New Zealand, England, cohost Australia, Zambia, frontrunners France Locations: France, Norway, Haiti, Republic of Ireland, England, Thailand, Vietnam, Japan, Germany, Morocco, Jamaica, Panama, Brazil