<div style="text-align: justify; "><b style="font-size: 1rem;">Women's World Cup teams in Auckland said they were shocked but safe after a deadly shooting in the centre of the New Zealand city on the opening day of the tournament Thursday.</b><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A gunman opened fire at a building site just hours before the opening game at the city's Eden Park between hosts New Zealand and Norway. Two people, plus the shooter, were dead and six wounded.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said the showpiece match would go ahead as scheduled but the incident left teams rattled with at least one squad staying nearby.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"New Zealand Football are shocked by the incident in Auckland this morning," NZ Football said. "We can confirm that all of the Football Ferns team and staff are safe."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Norway's team hotel was close to where the shooting unfolded but they were unharmed and said "everything is calm in the squad".</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Captain Maren Mjelde said they were woken up by a helicopter and "a large number of emergency vehicles".</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"At first we didn't know what was going on, but eventually there were updates on TV and the local media," she said in a statement.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"We felt safe the whole time. FIFA has a good security system at the hotel and we have our own security officer in the squad.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Everyone seems calm and we are preparing as normal for the game tonight. Then we may have to adapt if there are any instructions from the authorities."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Defending champions the United States are also based in Auckland for the tournament, which is also being co-hosted by Australia, and similarly said "all of our players and staff are accounted for and safe".</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Our security team is in communication with local authorities and we are proceeding with our daily schedule," they added.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Americans are chasing an unprecedented third World Cup crown in a row and face outsiders Vietnam to open their title defence in Auckland on Saturday.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Hipkins told reporters there was no ongoing risk and he had spoken with football's governing body FIFA.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Clearly with the FIFA World Cup kicking off this evening there are a lot of eyes on Auckland. The government has spoken to FIFA organisers this morning and the tournament will proceed as planned," he said at a press conference.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"I want to reiterate that there is no wider national security threat. This appears to be the actions of one individual."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Former New Zealand player Maia Jackman was reportedly in a fan zone as the drama unfolded and told The New Zealand Herald: "It's pretty scary actually." AFP</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</div>