EDMONTON

It was a game, and an event that just doesn’t stop breaking records.

A record number of Canadians watched on television to go with a record crowd for a national team soccer game, or a national team game in any other sport of 53,058 as the FIFA Women’s World Cup opened in Edmonton Saturday.

Preliminary overnight data from Numeris confirmed that 1.8 million viewers watched the Canada-China game on CTV, TSN and RDS, making it the most-watched FIFA Women’s World Cup match ever in Canada.

By comparison, the opening game of Germany 2011, telecast on CBC, which featured Canada versus the host nation, drew an all-time record audience of 662,000. And that represented a 147% increase from the previous record from China 2007.

Audience levels peaked at 2.6 million viewers as captain Christine Sinclair scored on a penalty kick to provide Canada with a 1-0 win in stoppage time.

Overall, 5.6 million unique Canadian viewers tuned in for some or all of the game.

On digital platforms, more than double the daily average of live-streaming viewers on TSN GO tuned in.

BBC Sports projected a billion viewers worldwide for the FIFA Women’s World Cup in a report published on the British broadcaster’s website. More than 400 million viewers tuned into the Women’s World Cup in Germany four years ago.

SINCLAIR UPS PERCENTAGE

With Christine Sinclair’s penalty kick goal in stoppage time to give Canada a 1-0 win over China in the tournament opener, it increased the success percentage for PKs.

It was the 52nd penalty to be awarded in the history of the Women’s World Cup.

It was the 43rd goal.

Germany went into the tournament 10-for-10 in penalty kicks. The U.S. and Norway were both seven for eight over the first six World Cups.

HAD TO HAPPEN

With eight newcomers to the FIFA Women’s World Cup, a 10-0 spanking like the one suffered by 68th-ranked Ivory Coast against two-time World Cup champion Germany had to happen.

While one of the newcomers, the Netherlands won 1-0 in Edmonton over New Zealand, the others –- Camaroon, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Spain, Switzerland and Thailand -- might get a spanking here or there.

In the first World Cup, Sweden beat Japan 8-0. Four years later Norway rocked Nigeria 8-0 and then throttled Canada 7-0. Four years later Norway pasted Canada 7-1 and China thumped Ghana 7-0.

Ivory Coast can at least know they didn’t suffer the most lopsided defeat in tournament history. That was Argentina, defeated 11-0 by Germany in China 2007. And that was the opening game.

HAWK EYE WAITING

Maybe somebody should start a pool.

When will the new ‘Hawk-Eye’ FIFA goal-line technology to decide goals first get used?

Canada 2015 became the first FIFA Women’s World Cup in history where the new goal-line technology was in use when China and Canada played in the opening game of the tournament Saturday.

There was no controversy involving the goals, although China rattled a shot off the crossbar and across the gaping crease to deflect off the other. But it was clear to 53,058 naked eyes that it did not go in.

The technology was first in play for every game of a tournament at the Brazil 2014 World Cup. And not once did they have to “go upstairs”.

‘Hawk Eye’ is a seven-camera per goal system installed as high as possible in the stadium structure. It is able to locate the ball at all times even if it is only found by two of the cameras. The system is millimetre-accurate and indicates whether or not a goal has been scored within one second by a vibration on each match official’s watch.

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