England got their 2023 Women’s World Cup campaign off to a winning start with a 1-0 victory over debutants Haiti on Saturday at Lang Park, Brisbane.
Despite the Lionesses’ lacklustre performance, Georgia Stanway’s spot-on retake of a penalty handed England the win. The Goalkeeper for Haiti, Kerly Theus, was deemed to have gone off her line too early after saving her initial attempt, but the midfielder maintained her composure.
Similar to their performance in the opening match of Euro 2022 against Austria, which England went on to win, Sarina Wiegman’s team lacked imagination and precision. They will hope to repeat
Lionesses had a total of 21 shots on goal on the other hand, Haiti had only 7 shots. They also had 75% possession of the ball. Despite that, they are not able to score more goals.
Haiti, Ranked 54 while England ranked at 4th in the latest world ranking. Though they are debutants but they caused too much troubled to England specially Melchie Dumornay in particular. Haiti, continued to remind the Lionesses of the threat they posed.
Later on, Haiti even had a chance to equal the score on two occasions but England Goalkeeper Mary Earps made two brilliant saves in quick succession one of the save come just eight minutes before the final whistle when Haiti nearly grabbed an equalizer after sub Roseline Eloissaint found herself free in the box, but Earps made save of the match and kept her side ahead, as ultimately lionesses win.
England have won their last six group stage games at the FIFA Women’s World Cup, though this is just the third time in six appearances they’ve won their opening match at the tournament.
Haiti defeat means the last nine debutants have lost their first ever match at the FIFA Women’s World Cup with all five to do so at this edition failing to score.
The match-winning moment 🎞 pic.twitter.com/NSKrN8CoYW
— Lionesses (@Lionesses) July 22, 2023
“They challenged us,” England’s goal scorer Stanway told broadcaster ITV afterwards.
“They were very dangerous on the counter attack, so that’s something we’ll work on in training this week. Mary came up with a big save and everybody played their part. Moments like that are why she’s a top keeper. The most important thing is that we’ve got three points.”
Georgia Stanway held her nerve from the penalty spot to give England a 1-0 win over brave Haiti in a pulsating Group D opener at the Women’s World Cup.
“I was just focused on the ball and the situation,” Stanway added.
“The first penalty was a very, very good save, so credit for that but obviously she was off her line. I was tempted to change sides, but you’ve got to confident in your strategy. There’s a process I go through and I stuck to that.”
A positive start for the European champions. 🏆#BeyondGreatness | #FIFAWWC
— FIFA Women’s World Cup (@FIFAWWC) July 22, 2023
“It was a very hard game, I’m very happy with the three points,” England manager Sarina Wiegman told ITV. “They were very unpredictable, very transitional. That’s what they showed and we struggled with that. We did create chances but we lost the ball and then they were gone. That was hard for us.
“We want to finish our chances. We did it with the penalty which was good because the win is the most important thing.”
England vs Haiti Final Score
| Team | 1st Half | 2nd Half | Final Score |
| England | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Haiti | 0 | 0 | 0 |
England – Georgina Stanway : 29th minute
Goal scores
29th minute: GOOOOAAAAALLLLLL!!!!!! Georgina Stanway (penalty)
Stanway goes to the same side, hits it even harder and the ball pings into the side netting. Theus stood her ground this time expecting one down the middle but the England midfielder won that battle of wills.
Representing. đź‘Ś pic.twitter.com/pKivYUI1iP
— Lionesses (@Lionesses) July 22, 2023
Line-Ups :
England (4-3-3, right to left): 1-Mary Earps (GK) — 2-Lucy Bronze, 6-Millie Bright, 16-Jess Carter, 5-Alex Greenwood — 8-Georgia Stanway, 4-Kiera Walsh, 10-Ella Toone — 18-Chloe Kelly, 23-Alessia Russo (9-Rachel Daly), 11-Lauren Hemp (7-Lauren James)
Haiti (4-2-3-1, right to left): 1-Kerly Theus (GK) — 13-Betina Petit-Frere, 3-Jennyfer Limage (21-Ruthny Mathurin), 4-Tabita Joseph, 20-Kethna Louis — 19-Dayana Pierre-Louis 9-Sherly Jeudy — 7-Batcheba Louis (16-Milan Pierre-Jerome), 6-Melchie Dumornay, 10-Nerilia Mondesir — 22-Roselord Borgella (11-Roseline Eloissaint)