In terms of the Arsenal involvement it's Catley who will deservedly hog the headlines after smashing home her penalty, but Caitlin Foord was superb for the Matildas, always running at players and maybe should have done better in front of goal. Katie McCabe reminded the world why she is an absolute nightmare to play against... I'm off to update my wallchart.

Steph Catley's emphatic penalty seals a 1-0 win for Australia in their opening World Cup game! Agonising for Katie McCabe and Ireland who fought relentlessly from minute one, but will have nothing to show for it.

FULL TIME: Australia 1-0 Ireland

90+7' McCabe then swings in a great cross and Louise Quinn heads it wide! 1-0

96' Huge chance for McCabe and Ireland! The captain's effort is saved by Arnold. 1-0

90+5' Steph Catley is down on the edge of the Australian penalty area but is helped back up to her feet by the referee. The Matildas are nearly there. 1-0

90+3' Larkin's effort is up and over the crossbar and Arnold can run down the clock. 1-0

90+2' Connolly's corner was not far away at all! Again it's deflected and Ireland will have another chance- McCabe swings her effort in towards the back post but it's behind for a goal kick. 1-0

90+1' 5 players in the Australia wall with an Irish player in front of them. Great effort from Megan Connolly and it's deflected behind for a corner. 1-0

90+1' 6 minutes added on. 1-0

90' Free kick for Ireland right on the edge of the penalty area as Hunt barges into the back of Louise Quinn- now then... 1-0

88' Carusa is replaced instead of Campbell, correction. 1-0

87' Izzy Atkinson is on for Ireland in place of Megan Campbell. Australia have a central free kick a long way from goal, floated in by Catley and headed away by Louise Quinn. 1-0

85' Australia's most capped player Claire Polkinghorne is on for Mary Fowler as Australia set up their defensive shop. 1-0

82' Carpenter finding Foord who has to turn and get a shot away on her left foot, but it's blocked once again. 1-0

82' Brilliant from Foord again down the right wing at pace, cutting the ball back and nothing comes of Gorry's shot. Ireland's counter attack is quickly thwarted. 1-0

78' 75,784 fans are in attendance in Sydney, and as things stand Australia are on track to, only just, start the tournament with 3 points. 1-0

77' A lot going on! Big appeals for handball from the Irish side before Heather Payne scuffs her shot, a great opportunity on her left foot inside the box. 1-0

76' Deep corner from Katie McCabe is headed away. Littlejohn takes on Foord who defends well. 1-0

75' Emily van Egmond is on for Courtnee Vine. 1-0

74' Another corner now for Ireland who are having a good spell here, let's not forget in their first ever World Cup match. Connolly's inswinger is headed as far as O'Sullivan who couldn't keep her shot down. 1-0

73' The ball is worked wide to Payne and the Ireland wingback mishits the cross, which is caught easily by Arnold. 1-0

71' A rare opportunity for Ireland who have a corner, their first of the game! McCabe takes and it's punched off the line fro Arnold, a vicious in-swinging delivery and the goalkeeper does fantastically. 1-0

70' Cooney-Cross and Foord with a nice interchange on the break but Heather Payne wins the ball back for Ireland. Catley blocks her cross. 1-0

68' The Arsenal combination as Catley's corner is flicked on by Foord but the ball can only go behind for a goal kick. 1-0

68' I get the feeling that Ireland will be looking to keep this deficit down to one for as long as possible to give them something to aim for in the latter stages. Gorry's shot is blocked. 1-0

66' Raso has finally swapped wings and will no longer be up against McCabe... 1-0

63' Abbie Larkin and Louise Quinn will come on for Ireland, with Farrelly and Sheva replaced. 1-0

60' Australia looking far more comfortable after Catley's penalty found the net, and Ireland aren't sure how they are going to fight back. 1-0

56' It's just Steph Catley's fourth goal for the Matildas and what a time to do it- captaining her country in a home World Cup. 1-0

Vivianne Miedema on twitter: Top bins. ???? @stephcatley

54' McCabe is fouled by Gorry and she is fuming- definitely some afters in that challenge too. 1-0

53' Brilliant scenes as Catley and the Matildas wheel away in celebration. Moments later Fowler drives through the middle and shoots over the crossbar. 1-0

52' Steph Catley scores from the spot and Australia lead by a goal to nil! What a penalty from the Arsenal left back! 1-0

51' Penalty for Australia! Cooney-Cross floated the ball into the box and Sheba drags down Raso, the referee points to the spot. 0-0

49' A sign of the pace that Courtnee Vine possesses as she bursts into the box but in the end clips Niamh Fahey and is penalised. 0-0

46' Back underway. 0-0

The teams are back out for the second half- if you're just joining us, the big news is that Sam Kerr is sidelined with a calf injury and will also miss Australia's next game against Nigeria

Ireland's pre-tournament friendly against Colombia was abandoned after 20 minutes due to the game being overly physical, and you get the feeling that Colombia cannot have been the only aggressors after watching that first half. How will the Matildas look to break this Ireland defence down?

It was Arsenal's Foord who came closest for Australia on a few occasions whilst Katie McCabe and Hayley Raso kicked the living daylights out of each other, a great first half for the neutral! I'm off to watch an other Aussie side for 15 minutes, as the Ashes continue...

Half time: Australia 0-0 Ireland

51' Vine slips the ball through to Foord but again she is crowded out by the Irish defence. Gorry then goes for goal from a long way out but Brosnan makes a comfortable save. 0-0

46' Raso is clattered again by McCabe, who watches the winger on her ankle before she is then fouled by Sheva. She's in the wars here but is soldiering on. 0-0

46' 6 minutes added on at the end of the first half. Can Australia break the deadlock before the interval? 0-0

45' VAR check going on for a possible penalty- with a handball being looked at. The check is over. 0-0

44' Brilliant from Foord down the left and it takes two Ireland defenders to stop her- incredible close control. 0-0

42' O'Sullivan receives the first yellow card. 0-0

39' Foord cuts in from the right and slips the ball through but it can't be met by a team mate and Brosnan gathers. 0-0

39' Another challenge by McCabe on Raso- surely the first yellow card of the tournament is imminent! Raso was down for a while but can carry on. 0-0

37' McCabe is ok to continue, with strapping on her fingers. 0-0

Looks like McCabe's problem was caused when she was clearing the ball away and challenging Carpenter in the process.

36' Moments later she gets a left footed effort away inside the box but it can only find the side netting. McCabe is down momentarily and the physio is on. 0-0

35' Foord going for goal from 25 yards and her curled effort is blocked on the edge of the box! 0-0

34' Carpenter launches a long throw into the Ireland box but it's easily headed away by Connolly. Ireland are able to win possession and knock the ball around rather easily at the back. 0-0

32' Another foul from McCabe on Raso! 0-0

31' Sheba's cross breaks to the back post and the offside flag is up against Farrelly. More good stuff from Ireland. 0-0

30' Wasteful from Kyra Carusa who made some real ground driving forward on the ball but then gave it away with a sloppy pass. Ireland keep their momentum going and win a throw in on the right. 0-0

28' Great chance for Hayley Raso who got her head to Catley's pinpoint corner, but the effort drifts wide. 0-0

26' Ireland are holding their own here, fighting hard for every loose ball and looking to attack Australia whenever possible. 0-0

20' McCabe breaks forward on the counter attack but her through ball is cut out, with Carusa almost getting behind the Matildas defence. 0-0

19' Catley goes long to Foord down the left and she drives at Fahey before winning a corner. 0-0

17' Cooney-Cross' deep corner is headed a long way wide by Hunt. 0-0

16' A real mix up in the Australia defence but they eventually clear their lines after McCabe's free kick was swung in. 0-0

15' McCabe is fouled by Raso in front of the Australia dugout. 0-0

13' Australia have looked for the long ball over the top to Raso on a few occasions now but the pass from deep has been over-hit each time. 0-0

11' A brilliant crunching tackle by Ruesha Littlejohn on Carpenter- the Ireland midfielder had a little smirk creeping across her face after the ball was won there. 0-0

10' Interesting to see how Mary Fowler operates alongside Foord- the Man City striker is starting on the left wing but often dropping back in behind Foord when Australia are trying to win back possession. 0-0

8' Carpenter bombs down the right flank but Ireland are able to cut out her cross and stop any further inrodes. 0-0

4' Foord in the central striker role for Australia with Catley at left-back. 0-0

1' Katie McCabe is starting at left wing-back in a back five for Ireland. 0-0

UNDERWAY! 0-0

The National Anthems are being belted out- it was a special occasion in Auckland earlier today but the size of that record breaking crowd is now DOUBLED. This is huge.

Here come the teams! A special moment for every Irish player and fan in Sydney tonight, and no more so than Arsenal's Katie McCabe, who captains her side to their very first World Cup.

Less than 10 minutes to go until kickoff in Sydney, and the teams are in the tunnel. Steph Catley and Katie McCabe will lead out their countries.

Great to see a traditional cultural welcome taking place in the middle of Stadium Australia, where there is plenty of Irish support- it is reported that over 4,000 fans have travelled Down Under.

If you have a moment before kick off then head over to @irelandfootball on Twitter to see Katie McCabe react to a proud message from her father as Ireland gear up for their maiden World Cup. "Don't get too many yellow cards" was one of his instructions!

All of the focus is on Sam Kerr's calf injury, but Australia have the stars to step up in this World Cup. Youngsters Mary Fowler, Kyra Cooney-Cross and Courtnee Vine have all impressed for club and country- there is no lack of pace in this Matildas attack despite the loss of Kerr.

Arsenal players will be featuring throughout Group B, with Sabrina D'Angelo and Cloe Lacasse representing Canada.

Katie McCabe will be relishing Ireland's underdog status as Vera Pauw's side head to their very first World Cup. The most part of 82,000 fans will be roaring Australia on in Sydney but McCabe is certainly used to these big occasions.

Catley and Caitlin Foord start for Australia, whilst Ireland skipper Katie McCabe was one of the first names on Vera Pauw's teamsheet.

The huge news is that Australia captain Sam Kerr will miss the Matildas' first two games of the tournament after suffering a calf injury in training. Arsenal's Steph Catley will be wearing the captain's armband for her country!

Attention will quickly be turned to co-hosts Australia, who kick off their campaign against the Republic of Ireland, one of eight teams making their Women's World Cup debuts in this tournament. Kick off is 11am in the UK, and team news is in.

The FIFA Women's World Cup is underway and it's all about New Zealand, who kicked off the 2023 tournament with a fantastic 1-0 win over Norway! It was a frustrating night for Arsenal's Frida Maanum however: https://www.onlinegooner.com/articles/view/defeat-for-frida-maanum-and-norway-as-the-women-s-world-cup-gets-underway