Suzanne Wrack has filed her report from Brisbane, so I’ll leave you with that. And don’t forget to join Sarah Rendell for Denmark v China, which kicks off in a couple of minutes. Thanks for your company and emails – bye!
Sarina Wiegman’s verdict
It was a very hard game and I’m very happy with the three points. We struggled with their unpredictability and transitions, and they were really tough in the duels. We did create chances but we also lost the ball at dangerous moments, and then they were gone, so that was hard for us.
The win is the most important thing. But we need to finish our chances and be a bit better in possession – a bit faster. We’re very close to scoring in open play so I hope we can do that in the next game.
I thought Georgia [Stanway] was struggling in the first half. She needed to pass a bit quicker and she lost the ball a couple of times. She improved later so that was good for the team. Mary didn’t have much to do and then all of a sudden she had to [make a big save]; that’s crucial for us, so I’m happy with that!
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The goalscorer Georgia Stanway speaks
You know what, they challenged us. They were very dangerous on the counter-attack, so that’s something we’ll work on in training this week. Mary came up with a big save and everybody played their part. Moments like that are why she’s a top keeper. The most important thing is that we’ve got three points.
The first penalty was a very, very good save, so credit for that but obviously she was off her line. I was tempted to change sides, but you’ve got to confident in your strategy. There’s a process I go through and I stuck to that.
We’ve been in camp for five or six weeks now, so it’s nice to get the first game out of the way.
Mystery-solving department
“I’m pretty sure the first full-time whistle came from the stands,” writes Sam Litster. “From in the stadium it didn’t sound like it came from anywhere near the referee!”
Just as in the European Championship last year, England start with a nervy 1-0 win. Georgia Stanway’s twice-taken penalty, awarded for an absent-minded handball by Batcheba Louis, settled a game in which England struggled to find their usual attacking rhythm.
It’s notable that, at the final whistle, Sarina Wiegman goes straight over to talk to Keira Walsh. She was marked out of the game by Melchie Dumornay, and England were unable to fire up the passing carousel as a result.
Dumornay was outstanding, with and without the ball. She’s going to be a superstar, if she isn’t already. Haiti did themselves proud and had two great chances, one in each half. Roselord Borgella shot wide early on, then the substitute Roseline Eloissaint forced the best save of the match from Mary Earps.
Teams often start tournaments slowly, so we shouldn’t be too critical of England. Especially as, y’know, they won. Let’s hope it was rust rather than inertia.
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Full time: England 1-0 Haiti
The referee seems to blow the final whistle, then changes her mind. And then, two seconds later, she blows it for real. A strange end to an awkward but ultimately successful night for England.
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90+3 min: Haiti substitution Darlina Joseph replaces Dayana Pierre-Louis.
90+2 min “I woke up at 4am assuming this match would be well in hand and am in shock that it’s still up for grabs,” says Mary Waltz. “This World Cup is full of surprises.”
90+1 min Only four minutes of added time.
90+1 min The corner is punched away by Earps and launched over the bar from distance by Eloissaint.
90 min Dumornay surges into the area from the left and tries a stepover to beat Carter, who makes an excellent challenge. Corner to Haiti…
88 min “This game has proven conclusively that Mary Earps is now a member of The Noble Order of Ruel Fox (THNOORF),” says Matt Taylor, “which is for players who commentators always refer to by both first and second name.”
88 min Toone, in the D, lovingly tees up Stanway for a first-time shot. She drags it well wide.
87 min The other two teams in this group, Denmark and China, kick off in about 40 minutes. Sarah Rendell is watching that one.
86 min Kelly’s corner bounces around the area before Stanway hooks it well wide.
82 min Daly’s header is saved comfortably by the falling Theus, then Stanway shoots over from distance. Stanway’s shot looked pretty close, although we haven’t seen a replay yet. It’s all happening.
81 min: Great save from Earps! That was Haiti’s chance. Mondesir held the ball up on the left side of the area and played a short pass to the onrushing Eloissaint. She veered away from a flat-footed Bright and shaped a low right-footed shot towards the far corner. Earps spread herself to make a fine reaction save with her left foot.
BIG save by Mary Earps ❌#FIFAWWC pic.twitter.com/hiZ4iC3ykF
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) July 22, 2023
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79 min Bronze cross towards Daly, who heads the ball a millisecond before Theus punches it away. I don’t know whether that counts as a save or not; I’m pretty sure Daly got to it first.
78 min: Haiti substitution Roseline Eloissaint replaces a weary Roselord Borgella, who worked extremely hard and missed a great chance at 0-0.
76 min: England substitution A change up front, with the prolific Rachel Daly replacing Alessia Russo.
75 min England are having their best spell of possession in the second half. James beats Petit-Frere majestically on the left, only to cross too close to Theus.
74 min Kelly’s cross just evades Russo. They’ve been England’s most dangerous attackers. Ella Toone has had an odd game – not bad so much as anonymous.
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73 min “I’m in France where, as you can imagine, they’re covering every match on terrestrial, as they do with the 6 Nations,” says Jeremy Boyce. “All the same, the match isn’t the most exciting so I’m mostly watching the Manchester rain on Geoff Lemon’s over-by-over commentary. Hard to tell which is the most/least interesting.”
I’ll take that as a compliment.
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72 min England pass the clock down for a couple of minutes, and why not.
70 min Walsh plays a lovely pass to find Kelly in space on the right. Her pass to the overlapping Bronze is blocked, but Kelly collects the loose ball and shoots wide from the edge of the area.
67 min Although Russo will be frustrated that she hasn’t scored, her hold-up play has been superb, particularly since half-time. She’s so good with her back to goal.
66 min For all Haiti’s threat on the break, and the lingering feeling that England haven’t played well, they still lead 8-1 when it comes to shot on target.
65 min The resulting corner ricochets around the area before reaching Bright, 12 yards out. She wallops a left-footed volley over the bar. As with Stanway’s shot in the first half, the ball wouldn’t come down for her.
64 min Stanway’s heading cross is met by the backpedalling Russo, who strains her neck muscles to force a looping header towards goal. Theus leaps to tip it over the bar, a pretty good save.
Updated
63 min Bright angles a fine lofted pass over the Haiti defence. Kelly controls it deftly on the run and cracks a shot that is well blocked by the substitute Mathurin.
63 min Lauren James has started on the left wing, with Kelly moving back to the right.
62 min For the umpteenth time tonight, England lose the ball in a dangerous position, Carter this time. Dumornay leads a three-on-one break, but her pass is slightly behind Mondesir and the attack peters out. Mondesir was offside anyway.
62 min: England substitution Lauren James replaces Lauren Hemp, who wasn’t at her scintillating best.
61 min “I want an Earps goalie shirt even more now!” says Carolyn Harris.
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58 min: Theus denies Russo again! That was brilliant centre-forward play. Stanway drove a flat, angled cross towards Russo, back to goal in the area. Her first touch was magnificent – she chested the ball around the corner and turned Tabita Joseph in the same movement – and the second was a crisp low shot that Theus pushed round the near post.
58 min: Good save by Theus! Russo takes the ball off Batcheba Louis on the left edge of the area, cuts inside and drives a low shot that is saved at the near post by the diving Theus.
57 min “Of all VAR’s many crimes against the game, I really can’t be done with the effective rule change for keepers at penalties,” says Tom Hopkins. “The rule might have said ‘can’t come off your line’, but it really meant ‘don’t take the rise’. Penalising a little hop forward as the taker swings their foot is for the birds.
“I also wonder how much of an extra advantage this micromanaging gives the better resourced sides. If you haven’t had specialist coaching on dragging your back foot along the line, do you even have a chance of saving a penalty any more?”
56 min Haiti are starting to boss the second half. Bright’s crossfield pass goes straight to Mondesir, who tries an extremely snapshot ambitious from 35 yards. Goalkick to England.
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54 min Walsh makes a vital tackle on Dumornay, who was charging at a backpedalling England defence. For a 19-year-old, Dumornay is absurdly good.
53 min “Everyone in Canada thinks we need to top the group to avoid England.,” writes Gerard Kennedy. “Not sure about that but all the big sides look average so far. First-match jitters maybe.”
51 min Hemp is booked for a very poor tackle on Mondesir. It was a hack, essentially, and Mondesir is limping heavily when she gets to her feet. She should be able to run it off.
51 min “Re: predictions - don’t rule out Sweden,” says Tor Turner. “The USA looked beatable against Vietnam, and Sweden are a team capable of great things if it clicks on the night. It’s a tough ask, but they could well have the beating of them. Brazil are challengers too, should reach the semis and as we know, anything can happen...”
50 min: Good save by Earps! Dumornay bounces Bronze off the ball to give Haiti and a four-on-three break. She cuts inside from the left and whips a fierce curling shot from the edge of the area. Earps leaps to push it away, though the speed of the shot almost knocks her off her feet.
49 min The Haiti keeper Theus drags the ball confidently past the onrushing Russo. Her opposite number Earps did something similar in the first half.
48 min “Dumb question,” says Tom Stratford promisingly, “but is the general consensus goalkeepers come off their line at penalties inadvertently or because they do think they might be able to get away with gaining a marginal advantage by shuffling out a bit at the last minute? Previously I’d have said the latter but with VAR it now feels almost impossible to actually get away with it.”
Yes, I’m pretty sure it’s inadvertent. A lot of these keepers have had very little experience of VAR, so their muscle memory probably needs a bit of work.
46 min Kelly and Hemp have swapped wings at half-time. Kelly, now on the left, nicks the ball just outside the area and drags it stylishly away from Tabita Joseph. Her cross hits a defender and bounces into the arms of Theus.
Updated
46 min No changes on either side at half-time. Haiti’s Roselord Bogella gets the match underway.
Half-time correspondence
“Here in New Zealand,” writes Dave Butler-Peck. “Trying to juggle putting my tired 12-year-old to bed whilst reading the updates on the app - feeling nervous in my England top as always!”
“I know it’s not all about individual players, and it’s wrong and simplistic to say that a team is missing individual players,” begins Charles Antaki, “but at the the moment it’s all about England missing individual players. Is there some cryogenic advanced rehab/treatment to get Leah Williamson and Beth Mead back in time for the next game?”
“Williamson is a big loss, she’s a cultured player with the ball, a great reader of play, has great positional sense and instills calmness, like a certain Mr B Moore (no, not Bryan) used to be for the men back in the day,” writes Jeremy Boyce. “She’s a complete package that is difficult to replace.”
“Haiti have really surprised me here,” says Mark Harrison. “And on Dumornay - it’s a good thing for England that there’s only one of her, because she’s been the best player on the pitch by a distance so far. I’d also like to express some appreciation for the World Cup of Proper Stoppage Time 2 - Electric Boogaloo. It improves the viewing experience immensely.”
“The crowd was booing (28 mins) because we had no idea why the individual brilliance from the underdog was waved off,” says Sam Litster. “Instead we got a VAR replay of a VAR penalty when we’re keen to watch some football!”
“I’m with the MBM ‘cos I’m following from Spain,” says Chris Fowler, “and the national broadcaster’s commitment to the Women’s World Cup is not on the same planet as the men’s equivalent. Definitely a case of hunt the match. They gave us Zambia-Japan this morning, but no England-Haiti, and a fair number of the matches are on some platform called RTVE Play or something. In November-December you sometimes got the feeling that nothing was happening in the world but the World Cup, but the coverage of the women’s version makes you think that they asked the teaboy to organise it in his spare time.”
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Half-time reading
“Go on then Rob, give us your picks,” says Jack Roe. “Winners, dark horses, surprise package?? Personally I’d love to see an England-Ireland second round and I think it’ll take something special to beat Spain.”
With the caveat that I’m no expert, I can’t see beyond Spain or the USA for the winners. Dark horses: Japan. Surprise package: China.
Half time: England 1-0 Haiti
First, the good news: England lead through Georgia Stanway’s twice-taken, VAR-awarded penalty. But they have struggled to open up a determined Haiti defence, and were grateful for Roselord Bogella missing a great chance at 0-0.
We shouldn’t be too critical, especially as it’s the first game of the tournament after a two-month break. But there were a few worrying signs in that half. The defenders were nervous and the attackers impatient. It didn’t feel like we were watching Sarina Wiegman’s injury.
England! I meant Sarina Wiegman’s England!
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45+9 min Stanway is booked for a late challenge on Pierre-Louis.
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45+9 min There’s been an unusual lack of subtlety in England’s attacking play. Ella Toone, the team’s chief wit, has been very quiet.
45+6 min I’d love to know how many touches Keira Walsh has had in this half. It feels like she hasn’t been involved at all. I know I keep going about it but that is a real problem for England. They may need to think about playing with two No6s if it continues.
45+5 min This is Haiti’s best spell of the game. Dumornay surges into space down the right – England thought she fouled Greenwood – before looking up and lofting a cross towards Borgella near the penalty spot. She heads over under pressure from Bronze.
That’s Borgella’s third sniff of goal tonight, through only the first one was a clear chance.
45+3 min “It’s a full house here in Manchester, venues have opened up early for fans and are doing a roaring trade in sneaky pints and full English breakfasts,” writes Tor Turner. “I’ve never seen so many people drinking lager at 10am (this is a lie, I regularly attend the cricket).
“We are SHAKY at the back. Plenty of firepower up front, but our back line seems very disorganised. Our backstop is Mary Earps, who I consider to be a goalkeeper without compare (esp as a United fan), but there’s only so much she can do if the back line crumbles. Fingers crossed we sort ourselves out in short order.”
Yes, they’ve been very jittery in defence. We shouldn’t forget that it’s Millie Bright’s first game since March. Even so, England are mmissing Leah Williamson’s influence as much as her ability.
45 min There will be nine minutes of added time.
44 min: Just wide from Borgella! Dumornay is a joy to watch. She works a short corner, moves impatiently past Kelly and lifts a dangerous cross that is headed wide by Borgella at the far post. There was a slight but crucial touch off an England head, without which Borgella may well have scored.
44 min Dumornay teases Bright in the area and crashes a low cross-shot that is put behind by the stretching Bright. Good defending.
43 min: Chance for Russo! Greenwood arrows a fine cross to the far post, where Russo pulls away from Mathurin, eight yards out, but then mistimes an attempted header. The ball hits her shoulder and flies wide.
43 min “A sleepy note in your hour of need,” says Ian Copestake. “Still waiting for VAR to make a decision to red card the American who was late on the Vietnam player. Looked a shocker to me but utterly ignored. Had roles been reversed I tell ya.”
42 min Most of England’s best work has been through Kelly and Bronze down the right. It’s all a bit disjointed though. They can play a lot better than this, and probably will once they get into the tournament.
41 min “Quite quiet in the stadium so far, in contrast to the party vibe outside the stadium,” writes Phil Udell. “Needs something to get the mood lifted. The incessant Fifa razzmatazz seems to dampen the atmosphere rather than enhancing it.”
40 min: Chance for Hemp! Stanway, 25 yards out, flips a lovely cross towards the unmarked Russo in the area. Russo can’t reach it but the ball drops for Hemp, who chests it tamely into the hands of Theus. Hemp was caught between a stooping header and a volley; in the end she did neither.
39 min Earps, who has had almost nothing to do so far, receives a backpass and calmly turns away from the onrushing Dumornay. And why not.
38 min Russo turns Tabita Joseph smartly on the left of the area and hammers a low cross that is claimed at the second attempt by Theus.
37 min “For a neutral it’s impossible to follow a match between two teams of such wildly differing resources without hoping for an upset,” writes Kári Tulinius. “And even though logic suggests a comfortable win for the Lionesses, the Grenadières seem full of self-belief. If they pull it off, it would have a good claim to be the greatest upset in World Cup history.”
36 min After a quick break from Haiti, Dumornay fresh-airs a spectacular overhead kick at the far post. As Sarina Wiegman flagged before the game, Haiti are dangerous on the counter.
36 min Jennfyer Limage is being stretchered round the perimeter of the pitch. She’s young enough (25) to get another chance, but it’s still a desperate twist of fate.
35 min “I’m here!” writes Carolyn Harris. “I’m watching in Flemish on Belgian TV and understanding only 50% of their commentary so I’m relying on your updates for the details. Exciting game so far!”
That it is, a bit too exciting at times.
34 min That goal is England’s first in four games. They aren’t playing too well, in truth – they look, unusually for this side, like a collection of individuals rather than a team. The fact Keira Walsh is being marked out of the game is a big reason for that.
31 min: Haiti substitution Poor Jennyfer Limage has been replaced by Ruthny Mathurin. It looked like a bad injury, certainly a potential tournament-ender.
Updated
GOAL! England 1-0 Haiti (Stanway 29 pen)
After a bit of a palaver, Georgia Stanway puts England in front! She went the same way, to her left, but this time kept the ball on the floor. Theus went the wrong way. Good penalty though.
Updated
28 min: The penalty will be retaken!
It was a fantastic save from Theus, diving to her right, but she was off her line when it was taken. There are boos from the crowd, though I’m not sure why.
What a save by Theus!!!
28 min My word, Kerly Theus has saved Stanway’s penalty – but she may have been off her line.
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27 min: Penalty to England Yep, it was handball by Batcheba Louis, a needless one at that. She jumped to challenge Bronze and forgot to pull her hands out of the way.
26 min: Another VAR check for an England penalty! Kelly’s deep corner seems to brush the fingers of Batcheba Louis, who was jumping to challenge Bronze. This will be given.
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25 min Jennyfer Limage is being helped off the field in tears. This is so sad. I don’t think it was Russo’s fault – Limage stretched to make a tackle and ended up in the kind of position you usually see in a game of Twister. It looked like a knee ligament strain.
23 min Russo bullies Limage to win another corner for England. Limage has stayed down and locks in a fair bit of pain.
22 min “A nice night in Brisbane?” says Simon McMahon. “Happy for them, but 15 degrees, cloud, wind and perhaps no rain for at least a couple of hours is my preferred weather…”
Don’t. I’ve been on that bloody weather app all night.
21 min Kelly’s dangerous cross from the right is pushed away desperately by Theus, who is clattered by Russo in the process.
20 min “I’m here Rob!” writes Joe Sampson. “Actually I’m currently walking in the hills in Asturias, Spain. So if you could let me know if anyone scores, I’d appreciate it!”
It would be my professional duty pleasure.
19 min: No penalty! The referee announces and explains the decision to the stadium, one of the innovations in this tournament. Pierre-Louis has been booked for the studs-up challenge on Kelly, but the (softish) foul by Russo preceded that, which is why England don’t get a penalty. Confused? Splendid, now all I need are the last three digits on the back of the card.
Updated
18 min: It’s still being checked. Pierre-Louis was trying to shepherd the ball out of play and stuck her studs into Kelly’s shin. It was overzealous rather than malicious, but it wasn’t a nice challenge. Never mind the penalty, this could be a red card.
Hang on, the plot thickens: Russo may have fouled Tabita Joseph just before Pierre-Louis’ tackle on Kelly.
Updated
VAR check for an England penalty! Maybe Pierre-Louis’ challenge on Kelly wasn’t legitimate; it’s being checked by VAR. She didn’t need to make the challenge at all.
The referee is going to the screen.
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15 min Kelly’s deep cross is headed back across goal by Hemp towards Russo. Tabit Joseph shepherds the ball to safety, legitimately flattening Russo in the process, and then Pierre-Louis does the same to Kelly.
14 min: What a chance for Haiti! Oh my word, they should be ahead. Dumornay plays a beautiful reverse pass to put Borgella through on goal. She gallops away from Bright and Walsh, into the area, but slides a tame left-footed shot well wide of the far post.
I think the flag went up after Borgella’s, but replays show she was definitely onside.
13 min England keep the ball for a couple of minutes. Eventually there’s a game of head tennis in the Haiti area before Stanway whacks the bouncing ball into orbit. She couldn’t get over it.
10 min The pace of the game is frantic, which probably suits Haiti more than England. Both teams, as Emma Hayes notes on ITV, have been a bit too eager. Human nature I guess; it’s the World Cup!
9 min Dumornay is limping after a heavy tackle from Russo. I think she’ll be okay.
8 min Anyone out there?
7 min Dumornay looks a threat. She’s marking Walsh whenever England have the ball, but as soon as it’s turned over she springs into space. This tactic of man-marking Walsh is a problem for England, because she makes the team tick.
6 min: Chance for Russo! Hemp wins the ball high up the field and tries to slide an angled pass through to Kelly. It’s cut out on the edge of the area, but the ball ricochets to Russo in space. She sweeps a first-time shot straight at Theus from around 15 yards.
4 min Kelly’s deep, inswinging corner is headed behind for another, this time on the right. Greenwood’s corner is headed back to hear; she whips in another cross that is headed away as far as Kelly, 25 yards out. She neatly makes room for a curling shot that is easily saved by Theus.
4 min Here’s our report of the earlier game, which ended Zambia 0-5 Japan.
3 min England break from that Haiti corner and win one of their own when Greenwood’s cross is put behind. Lively stuff.
2 min A nervous start from England. Bright plays a poor pass, then Toone is beaten too easily down the right. Dumornay drives a low cross that is put behind for a corner by Jess Carter.
As expected, Carter is playing at centre-back with Alex Greenwood on the left.
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1 min It already looks like Melchie Dumornay is shadowing Keira Walsh whenever England have the ball. That has become a popular tactic in recent months.
1 min Peep peep! After the obligatory countdown, Alessia Russo gets England’s World Cup campaign under way.
Haiti’s last appearance at a World Cup – women’s or men’s – was in 1974, so this is an historic day for them. The ITV host Laura Woods tells us that some people in Haiti have been buying TVs purely to watch the World Cup.
The players emerge from the tunnel and line up for the anthems. It looks like a nice night in Brisbane. Little brisk.
The Lionesses' quest for global dominance begins now 🦁#FIFAWWC pic.twitter.com/2qjS8NPrfv
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) July 22, 2023
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England’s semi-final defeat to the USA four years ago feels like another lifetime. Pre-Covid, pre-Bazball, pre-something else forgotten. Today’s starting line-up has three survivors from that game: Lucy Bronze, Millie Bright and Keira Walsh, though Georgia Stanway also came off the bench.
National treasure department
👋 @IanWright0
— Girls on the Ball (@GirlsontheBall) July 22, 2023
Great to see you here in Brisbane.#Lionesses | #ENGHAI | #FIFAWWC pic.twitter.com/8fuWKabN1S
The view from Brisbane
Ummmm…. Could do with being able to see the pitch 🤪 pic.twitter.com/JqIZ9UuVO4
— Suzy Wrack (@SuzyWrack) July 22, 2023
Haiti’s Melchie Dumornay is arguably the best young player in the world, an attacking midfielder of rare charisma – on and off the field.
Japan are hammering Zambia in their Group C game. You can follow the last few minutes with Sarah Rendell.
Sarina Wiegman speaks
[On picking Alessia Russo] It was really hard because we have three good centre-forwards, but I decided to go with Alessia. Lauren James was also close to starting. There’s huge competition on the wings, and today we’re starting with Lauren Hemp and Chloe Kelly. It’s really good that [Millie Bright] is back. She’s happy, we’re happy, and of course she brings lots of experience.
Haiti have some things in their game that will threaten us. I hope we dominate the ball, and when we’re on the ball they can’t use that. They have speed and unpredictability in their game, and they’re reelly dangerous in transition so we want to defend that.
🗣 "We've made very hard decisions but in the end, I decided to start Alessia Russo."
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) July 22, 2023
Sarina Wiegman speaking to @KatieShanahan3 pic.twitter.com/wCKlQaez0p
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The great Karen Carney will be writing for us throughout the World Cup. Here’s her column on England’s prospects.
I have interviewed a couple of the players and everyone seems excited. The environment seems really good. A young or new player coming into this squad should be thriving because they are part of a winning team with an aura about them and working with a top manager.
Browse our interactive guide!
There are 736 players at this World Cup, and we have profiles of each and every one. Knock yourself out. But first, read about Haiti’s best player.
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The teams in full
Haiti have made one change from their warm-up defeat to South Korea a fortnight ago: Betina Petit-Frere replaces Chelsea Surpris at right-back.
England (4-1-2-3ish) Earps; Bronze, Bright, Carter, Greenwood; Walsh; Stanway, Toone; Kelly, Russo, Hemp.
Substitutes: Charles, James, Daly, Nobbs, Hampton, Wubben-Moy, Morgan, Coombs, England, Zelem, Roebuck, Robinson.
Haiti (4-2-3-1) Theus; Petit Frere, Limage, T Joseph, K Louis; Jeudy, Pierre-Louis; B Louis, Dumornay, Mondesir; Borgella.
Substitutes: Ambroise, Larco, Surpris, Moryl, E Joseph, Pierre-Jerome, Etienne, Ganthier, Eloissant, D Joseph, S Joseph, Mathurin.
Referee Emikar Caldera Barrera (Venezuela).
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England team news: Carter starts
Sarina Wiegman has chosen Chelsea’s Jess Carter to replace Leah Williamson in defence. That probably means Alex Greenwood will play at left-back, though she and Carter are interchangeable.
Alessia Russo is preferred up front to Rachel Daly; the rest of the team is pretty much as expected.
Your #Lionesses for our first game of the tournament! 🏴 pic.twitter.com/npKM72s0sD
— Lionesses (@Lionesses) July 22, 2023
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In the early hours (UK time), the tournament favourites USA started their campaign with a routine 3-0 win over Vietnam. Jeff Kassouf was there for us.
The 2011 champions Japan are playing their opening game against Zambia as I type. You can follow that one with Sarah Rendell.
The #Lionesses have arrived. 👊 pic.twitter.com/en8X3hwthn
— Lionesses (@Lionesses) July 22, 2023
Read Sophie Downey’s preview
The return to fitness of Millie Bright provides a strong boost, not only in terms of her presence in central defence but also her leadership. Wiegman’s big dilemmas remain, however, and relate to who Bright’s defensive partner will be and who will play at left-back.
Alex Greenwood, appearing in her third World Cup, would be the more experienced option in the centre. She has enjoyed a strong season, ever-present in that position with Manchester City. But Wiegman has at times preferred to use Chelsea’s Jess Carter in the middle, placing Greenwood to the left in the position where she started her international career.
Preamble
Hello and welcome to live, minute-by-minute coverage of England v Haiti at the Brisbane Stadium. England are European champions and third favourites to win the World Cup, yet it feels like they are coming into the tournament with a bit of a whimper. There’s no hype, no hoopla, nobody wearing a union jack onesie on the high street.
For a variety of reasons, not least the inexorable passage of time, the euphoria of that life-affirming day at Wembley has faded a little. The most important, always the most important, involves the players. England are without four of the XI that started the final against Germany. Ellen White has retired; Beth Mead, the captain Leah Williamson and Fran Kirby are all out of the tournament with knee injuries. There’s also no Jill Scott, who came off the bench in that final to dispense some Anglo-Saxon.
When you lose players of that quality, there is always going to be a period of adjustment. England’s 30-game unbeaten run ended with defeat to Australia in April, and they have failed to score in the last three games. There has also been public discord about everything from availability to bonuses to the commerical viability of Mary Earps’ shirt. None of these problems are insurmountable, though, and the mood music will change very quickly if England start winning games.
They start their campaign against the World Cup debutants Haiti, who are ranked 53rd in the world. Haiti have a number of France-based players, including Lyon’s marvellous teenage midfielder Melchie Dumornay. But it will be an almighty surprise if England don’t win today.
Denmark and China are the other teams in Group D, so England are favourites to go through as winners. Australia, Canada, Nigeria or the Republic of Ireland would be their opponents in the last 16. A statement win today would remind everyone that England are serious contenders to win this thing.
Kick off 10.30am BST/7.30pm AEST.
