W/Cup campaign: England grab nervous win over Haiti
Three Lionesses of England flagged of their next world Cup campaign on a scrappy note with a lone goal win over 49th ranked Haiti.
The opening matches of the World Cup, at least for England, rarely bring big goals. It was a familiar story in 2019 when Phil Neville’s side beat Scotland 2-1.
It didn’t help that the Leonas came into this game after three games without scoring.
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Haiti coach Nicolas Delepine had suggested that they “had a problem with finishing” and when Kerly Theus saved Georgia Stanway’s penalty in the 28th minute, there was concern that he might have a point.
Fortunately for England and Stanway, Theus had slipped off her line and the kick from the penalty spot was retaken, with the midfielder converting on the second attempt. England almost managed to see out the second half.
Haiti were dangerous on the counter-attack, with star player Melchie Durmonay pulling the strings in midfield.
What they lacked was a clinical presence up front, but they showed enough here to cause Denmark and China problems in the remaining two games.
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Sarina Wiegman’s biggest selection dilemma going into this game was who to start up front: Alessia Russo or Rachel Daly. He left with Russo, but it was a frustrating night for the Arsenal striker, who was thwarted by Theus on several occasions.
England were also unconvincing in defense, with the return of captain Millie Bright in particular looking rusty. Bright was starting his first competitive game in quarter months after undergoing knee surgery and struggled with the pace of the game.