AUCKLAND
\nNew Zealand \u201cset a new standard\u201d for themselves by winning a Women\u2019s World Cup match for the first time, defender CJ Bott said Sunday, as the co-hosts eye a landmark place in the knockout stages.
\nThe Football Ferns had never won a game in 15 attempts at the finals before defeating former champions Norway 1-0 in Auckland on Thursday in the opening match of the tournament.
\nNow they face the Philippines on Tuesday knowing that another victory could secure their place in the last 16 even before their final Group A match against Switzerland.
\n\u201cI\u2019d like to think we don\u2019t have a ceiling,\u201d said Bott, the Leicester City defender, when asked how far New Zealand could go.
\n\u201cYou should never set yourself limits. The Norway game has set a new standard for us and we don\u2019t go down from there.\u201d
\nAfter that opening result anything less than a win against debutants the Philippines in Wellington would be considered a disappointment.
\nNew Zealand is not traditionally a football nation but the team\u2019s historic success, thanks to Hannah Wilkinson\u2019s goal, has thrust them into the spotlight like never before.
\nThe victory over Norway was watched at Eden Park by over 42,000 fans, a national record crowd for football in the country, men\u2019s or women\u2019s.
\n\u201cI think we still in a sense have the weight of the country on our shoulders,\u201d added the 28-year-old Bott.
\n\u201cThere is always a certain amount of pressure but it has given us the boost we need and we have taken a lot of confidence from it.\u201d
\nThe New Zealand team faced disruption late Saturday when they were forced to evacuate their hotel in central Auckland because of a fire.
\nLocal media reported a man had been arrested and charged with burglary and arson after the incident, which came less than 72 hours after a deadly shooting in Auckland on the morning of the opening match.
\nThe team were not thought to have been the target of the hotel fire and nobody was hurt.
\nNew Zealand Football CEO Andrew Pragnell said the players took shelter in a nearby restaurant before being given the all-clear to return to their hotel. \u201cWe went down the fire exits. One was a bit smoky but the majority of us got down the other exit,\u201d said Bott.
\n\u201cWe spent the rest of the evening in another location until the hotel was clear and everything was safe to go back.
\n\u201cAs a team we have no cause for concern. Things are back to normal for us.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
AUCKLAND New Zealand \u201cset a new standard\u201d for themselves by winning a Women\u2019s World Cup match for the first time, defender CJ Bott said Sunday, as the co-hosts eye a landmark place in the knockout stages. The Football Ferns had never won a game in 15 attempts at the finals before defeating former champions Norway […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-344938","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n