Wiegman demands more ruthless England after narrow Haiti victory

England are expected to be the main challengers to holders the United States but they looked anything but champions as they laboured to a narrow win over the World Cup debutants in Brisbane.

England had 10 shots on target to Haiti's two, without ever really clicking into top gear, and in the end a first-half penalty from Georgia Stanway was the difference between the sides. The Lionesses also needed a smart save from goalkeeper Mary Earps near the end to preserve their lead.

"We need more ruthlessness. We went very close a couple of times, and their defence was tough too, but we need to keep trying, keep working on it, starting tomorrow," Wiegman, who took England to victory at last year's Euros, said.

Match-winner Stanway said she was just relieved to have started the campaign with a win and admitted Haiti had caused them more problems than they expected.

"The most important thing is to get the three points. It's so important to win the first game of the tournament. It's been a long build-up and we're just happy to get over the line," she said.

"They caused us problems, they were a threat on the counterattack. They were fast, they were physical and they challenged us in ways we didn't expect. It took us a bit of time to get into the game, but once we did, you could see the quality in our team."

 

July 22, 2023