Fifa Women’s World Cup 2023: Fans going to opening match will need a raincoat

Heavy rain is forecast to arrive just in time for tonight's opening match of the Fifa Women’s World Cup at Eden Park. Photo / Supplied

Football fans heading out to the opening match of the Fifa Women’s World Cup will need a rain jacket alongside any national flags or colourful banners they plan to take to the game tonight.

A heavy rain watch is in place for Auckland from 8pm - an hour into the first match of the tournament between New Zealand’s Football Ferns and Norway at Eden Park.

MetService issued the rain watch last night and says a period of heavy rain and amounts that “may approach warning criteria” is forecast.

“Heavy rain may continue in the south of the region beyond 2pm [tomorrow]. Check for further updates [today].”

The heavy rain watch also affects Great Barrier Island.

A high of 16C is on the cards today and an overnight low of 11C.

Showers are expected in Auckland today, and forecasters say those will turn to rain in the evening with possibly heavy falls, as northeasterly winds also become strong.

MetService said yesterday that the rain watch could potentially be upgraded to a warning and encouraged people heading out to stay safe.

“At the moment, kickoff looks better than the final whistle. But the waterproof layers will be useful for the journey home,” a forecaster said.

Despite the gloomy weather forecast, a huge turnout is expected at Eden Park tonight, with a sell-out crowd of just over 40,000 people due to come out tonight.

It is tipped to be the biggest crowd to attend any football match in New Zealand and would surpass the 35,194 people who turned out to watch the men’s national football side take on - and beat - Bahrain in Wellington in 2009.

The Football Ferns’ previous highest attendance was their match against the US at Eden Park earlier this year. Almost 13,000 fans watched that game.