Georgia Stanway’s retaken first-half penalty was enough for England to edge past impressive tournament debutants Haiti 1-0 in their Women’s World Cup opener.
In a dramatic opening 45 minutes, England had a first penalty appeal dismissed by VAR. The technology was called upon again soon after as the Lionesses were awarded a spot-kick after Batcheba Louis’ handball.
Stanway’s initial effort was saved by goalkeeper Kerly Theus – sparking a big celebration from her team-mates – but VAR spotted that she was off her line.
The referee ordered the penalty to be retaken, and Stanway expertly dispatched her second effort. It proved to be enough for the victory despite another below-par performance from England, while Haiti showed they were not at their first major tournament just to make up the numbers.
Melchie Dumornay and Roselord Borgella both saw chances fall their way, while England stopper Mary Earps was forced into two world-class saves in the second half to deny Haiti their first World Cup goal.
For now, England go top of Group D ahead of Denmark vs China later on Saturday, while Haiti have given themselves plenty of hope to pick up points against the remaining teams in the group.
More to follow…
What’s next?
After taking control of Group D, England next face Denmark on July 28, kick-off 9.30am, before concluding their group stage campaign against China on August 1, kick-off 12pm.
What is the schedule?
The group stage has begun and runs over a two-week period finishing on August 3. Group winners and runners-up progress to the round of 16, which takes place from August 5 to August 8.
The quarter-finals, which will be held in Wellington, Auckland, Brisbane and Sydney, are scheduled for August 11 and 12.
The first semi-final will then be played on August 15 in Auckland, with the other semi-final taking place on August 16 at the Accor Stadium in Sydney, which will then host the final on August 20.
A third-place play-off will be played the day before the final on August 19 in Brisbane.