England opened its 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup championship fight against Haiti, as the two squads clashed at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, Australia.
The Lionesses entered the match as one of the favorites to dethrone the top-ranked Americans in the tournament, as they're currently fourth in FIFA's World Rankings. Haiti meanwhile, faced a steep challenge as the 54th-ranked team globally.
Despite being without stars Beth Mead and Leah Williamson, England was able to eke out a hard-fought win over a scrappy young Haitian squad. Its lone goal came on a penalty in the first half.
Sarina Wiegman's Lionesses are ranked fourth - 49 spots above fledgling Haiti - and are considered among the World Cup favourites as the reigning European champions. They next face Denmark on July 28 and China on August 1. Haiti play China on July 28.
England will hope history repeats itself with this tame 1-0 win replicating their subpar start to Euro 2022 - which turned out alright in the end.
Stanway boasted a record of seven out of seven for the Lionesses, only to see Kerly Theus plunge to her right and save superbly. However, VAR confirmed the Haiti goalkeeper had come off her line, meaning a retake that Bayern Munich midfielder Stanway dispatched into the same corner.
The goalie play in this match was exquisite. FIFA's 2022 Goalkeeper of the Year Mary Earps showed why she's deserving of the award with this dazzling save to preserve her shutout. She had shutout 14 of 22 previous opponents while in goal for Manchester United. ngland are ranked fourth in the world and are one of the favourites to win the whole tournament despite tough competition from the United States, who are attempting to become the first nation to win three successive titles.
“The pressure is always on England,” said Lionesses boss Sarina Wiegman. “Everyone expects England to win anyway - that was also the case last year - that’s not different now.”
Some confusion as the final whistle is blown early by the referee, with 15 seconds still to go on the minimum added time.
A few bemused looks later, it really is all over
The Lionesses are off to a winning start
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