England overcame a spirited Haiti side 1-0 in their Womens World Cup opening game. A lack of quality in the finishing department denied the Lionesses a larger scoreline while some laxed defending when Haiti countered will perhaps encourage Denmark and China.
Alessia Russo, favoured ahead of WSL top scorer Rachel Daly, had an early chance to give England the lead. The new Arsenal signing put her shot too close to Kerly Theus in the Haiti goal. At the other end, Roselord Borgella got in behind as Lucy Bronze and Millie Bright were caught ball-watching. Her finish was surprisingly tame for a player who netted 14 goals in qualifying.
Lauren Hemp pulled a header wide but the Lionesses nearly benefited from the attack. Chloe Kelly appeared to be brought down by Manoucheka Pierre Louis in the aftermath. A VAR review put the kibosh on any possible penalty.
England didn’t have to wait long for a spot kick though. Bronze glanced wide from a corner, with Batcheba Louis’ fingers appearing to change the flight of the ball. The referee agreed and awarded a penalty, meaning a spot kick had been awarded in every game of the 2023 World Cup so far.
Georgia Stanway’s initial attempt was saved by a sprawling Theus. But the referee was alerted to the fact the Haiti shot-stopper had stepped off her line too early. Stanway made no mistake on the re-take, sweeping it low to the keeper’s right to score. A let-off perhaps, but one the balance of play had at least justified.
Haiti played their part though and Sarina Wiegman’s side looked untidy on the counter. A Borgella header could have drawn this one level but the finish was poor. England seemed content to work the flanks and pump crosses into the box, but Russo and Hemp couldn’t make the most of presentable chances.
Melchie Dumornay fired in an early warning shot after half time. It was a hard-and-true distance strike that drew gasps from the crowd. The shot was close to Mary Earps but the save was necessary. Would England be punished for their first-half wastefulness?
Russo caught a nice chance on the half-volley, with Theus getting down well at her near post to tip it wide. Greenwood’s corner was poor but did earn another chance as Haiti struggled to clear it. The follow-up was just as bad as England dropped back to fight the counter.
England had a better-worked corner minutes later. The ball trickled out to Bright who had a great chance on the half-volley. She skied the effort as England continued to struggle with finishing.
Earps was the hero with ten minutes remaining. Roseline Eloissaint burst through and executed a fine, low finish. But the Manchester United keeper pulled off a spectacular stop. At the other end, Kelly played in Daly who went close herself.
England will need to improve in attack as the tournament wears on. While it would be unfair to say they got away with one today, there is a case to be made that without Earps, their tournament could have opened on an upset. There is attacking quality in this side. Few teams would be able to deploy forwards of the quality of Rachel Daly from the bench. But with this surprisingly-tricky opening tie out of the way, England need to find their shooting boots in short order.
