Neil Johnston
BBC Sport in Auckland, New Zealand

Image source, BBC Sport

It's not just Eden Park that has had a Fifa makeover for the Women's World Cup.

These are the doors to the lifts at the five-star Park Hyatt Hotel on Auckland’s waterfront.

The hotel was the scene of Fifa president Gianni Infantino's eve-of-tournament media conference on Wednesday.

Read what Infantino said here.

Neil Johnston
BBC Sport in Auckland, New Zealand

Image source, BBC Sport

Remember when Fifa president Gianni Infantino accused the West of "hypocrisy" in its reporting about Qatar's human rights record, on the eve of the men's World Cup last November?

"Today I have strong feelings. Today I feel Qatari, I feel Arab, I feel African, I feel gay, I feel disabled, I feel a migrant worker," he said in an extraordinary monologue at a news conference in Doha.

Well, Infantino was in a much better mood when he faced the media in Auckland on the eve of the Women's World Cup - despite only landing in New Zealand two hours earlier.

So much so that he joked about his previous speech.

"For those of you who are waiting to hear how I feel today… today I feel tired because I have just landed. But I feel very happy," he told a packed room of journalists at a five-star hotel on Auckland's waterfront.

With the Women's World Cup trophy sitting in front of him, Infantino spent about half an hour straight batting questions. He was joined by outgoing Fifa secretary general Fatma Samoura.

"Until the 20 August [date of the final] you will only hear positive things from me about everything and everyone, and if somebody is still not happy about something then I am so sorry," he added.

Read more here.

Republic of Ireland Katie McCabe: "It's about exceeding expectation and that is something we have done along the way. We don't just want to create history, we want to leave a legacy back home and have young girls and boys seeing us walk out tomorrow and have that whole support behind us. I know we have a lot of support here as well.

"Why we started playing football was for the love and enjoyment. Myself and the girls have been on a journey, with the coaching staff and all our staff, and it's something we have all worked hard towards. We will embrace every moment and have that moment to ourselves, and when that whistle blows we will be ready to battle."

Republic of Ireland captain Katie McCabe on the underdog tag: "It's something that, as a small nation, you always carry that title. We know we are making our debut but we know what we want to do. We're not just happy to be here and we want to give Australia, Canada and Nigeria the hardest games possible. It's going to be exiting and we know what Australia have. They have quality all over the park, but we know what we can do all over the pitch. We are fully concentrated on tomorrow."

"We know the qualities the Australian team have, they have world-class players and have experience of playing in World Cups and major tournaments. They have exciting talent coming through, but we know what we have in our locker and we want to keep them at bay as much as possible tomorrow night. It is going to be an exciting night."

Republic of Ireland captain Katie McCabe: "It's crazy to think we actually here now. We landed a short while ago at Sydney airport greeted by Irish fans. It's nice to see them there, it's a home away from home.

“To see the numbers that have travelled and the amount of support we have in Sydney, today and more importantly tomorrow, it's really special and the whole team feel that. The support we have here and back home. We want to do the nation proud."

Andy Gray
BBC Sport NI at Stadium Australia

In news all Irish fans will want to hear, Denise O'Sullivan has been passed fit to play in tomorrow's World Cup opener.

The midfielder, who is so key to everything that Vera Pauw's side do, was a doubt after she was taken to hospital in the abandoned warm-up game with Colombia on 14 July.

Scans revealed she had a badly bruised shin, but she returned to training and is now likely to start in Sydney.

"We said from the start, we have nothing to hide. Denise is fine, she trained yesterday and she will play tomorrow," said Vera Pauw.

Irish captain Katie McCabe said the Republic have put the drama surrounding the abandoned friendly behind them and "full focus" is on Australia.

"We knew Columbia were going to be physical, it is the case in every game," she added.

"We don't shy away from that and it is ingrained in us. We are prepared for Australia to be physical.

"We have looked at the games they have played and they don't shy away from that either. We are prepared to match it."

Republic of Ireland manager Vera Pauw: "We said from the start, we have nothing to hide. Denise [O’Sullivan] is fine, she trained yesterday and she will play tomorrow."

"We know what kind of pressure we will be under. They press forward constantly, so that is what we will face. We need to put something against that."

"We knew there would be fans, but it is so heart-warming the way the Irish react to us. It gives us such a boost, it is so nice and we embrace it."

Republic of Ireland manager Vera Pauw on what they expect from Australia: "We know what kind of pressure we will be under. They press forward constantly, so that is what we will face. We need to put something against that."

"We are preparing for a team which has almost always been at the Women's World Cup, they have huge experience, class players, immense pace on the wings of their team.

"We know what we are going to face. Within that, we are going to try and play our game. We are debutants on this world stage, to be here is something we are proud of. We are realistic but we play every game to win and show our qualities."

Republic of Ireland manager Vera Pauw is asked by BBC's Jane Dougall what her plan is to stop Sam Kerr: "We have our game plan, part of that is dealing with Sam but also the rest of their players. Australia is not just Sam Kerr. We have analysed them and set out our game plan."

Image source, Getty Images

Republic of Ireland manager Vera Pauw on whether they can frustrate a sell-out crowd at Stadium Australia: "That is something you need to ask Australia. We do not collapse under high pressure - we played to capacity crowds at Hampden Park, at our home stadium, but this is something different. We play the best we can and we see if that is enough."

Image source, Getty Images

And we are straight into the prep for opening day. The Republic of Ireland have held their news conference before facing co-hosts Australia, who in turn face the media later.

Updates to follow.

Emma Smith
BBC Sport reporter at Stadium Australia, Sydney

After three years of waiting, Australia is finally ready to co-host the first Women's World Cup to take place in the Southern Hemisphere.

This was the scene outside Stadium Australia as the media queued ahead of the press conferences for Republic of Ireland and the Matildas.

It's a beautiful, cloudless day in Sydney, and is set to be the same tomorrow. Hopefully the atmosphere and football is just as good.

Image source, Emma Smith

Image source, Emma Smith

Image source, Emma Smith

Image source, Getty Images

The Women's World Cup kicks off on Thursday, but who will be lifting the trophy at the end of it?

The United States are looking to defend their back-to-back titles, while European champions England are chasing a first World Cup crown.

The Republic of Ireland are competing in their first World Cup and joint-hosts Australia and New Zealand hope to make it a memorable one.

BBC Sport spoke to pundits, ex-players and managers to get their predictions.

Read about them here.

So, there are lots of things to get through today. Here is a rough running order. As always, things can change.

• Women’s World Cup build-up before the big kick-off tomorrow.
• Pre-season check-in - we also have reporters Stateside following Premier League sides.
• All the latest transfer news - Man Utd hunt Onana and Hojlund, Chelsea knocked back for Caicedo.
• Red Devils and Liverpool both in action later - Emlyn Begley will join me to cover those matches.
• Much more gossip and debate.

The papers are mostly taken up by the fourth Ashes test, but here’s a quick look at some of the top entries into our gossip column..,

Chelsea are considering making a move for 30-year-old Manchester United and England centre-back Harry Maguire, with the Blues' France defender Wesley Fofana, 22, facing a lengthy spell on the sidelines having had surgery on an anterior cruciate ligament injury.(90 Min), external

Newcastle United could complete a deal for Leicester City and England winger Harvey Barnes in the coming days and the arrival of the 25-year-old could mean French forward Allan Saint-Maximin leaving the Magpies, with the 26-year-old attracting interest from the Saudi Pro League.(Mail), external

Al-Ahli want Saint-Maximin and have offered Newcastle 25m euros for the player.(L'Equipe - in French), external

Saudi Arabian side Al-Hilal are interested in Liverpool forward Luis Diaz but it is unlikely the Reds will accept the 50m euros they are preparing to offer for the 26-year-old Colombia international.(Record - in Portuguese), external

Paris St-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi saw Kylian Mbappe at the club's training ground on Tuesday but decided not to hold face-to-face talks with the 24-year-old as the stand-off between the Ligue 1 club and France striker continued.(Sky Sports), external

Aston Villa have made an improved bid worth up to £42.9m for Bayer Leverkusen and France winger Moussa Diaby.(Athletic - subscription required), external

The full column is here.

We are ONE DAY out from the Women’s World Cup.

Excited? Can England take their European domination onto the biggest stage of them all?

Not long to wait to find out.

We’ll be hearing from our team of reporters out in Australia and New Zealand throughout the day, as well as those following all the pre-season tours.

And then there’s all the transfer news. Andre Onana to Man Utd is finally close, but they won’t overpay for Rasmus Hojlund. Will Moises Caicedo go to Chelsea? Is Allan Saint-Maximin destined to leave Newcastle?

All to come today, plus some more friendly match coverage later with Man Utd and Liverpool in action. Let’s go!