Football heavyweights Brazil and Germany both get their Women’s World Cup campaigns underway on Monday as they look to lay down an early marker in pursuit of the trophy at the tournament in Australia and New Zealand.
Germany are generally seen among the top five most likely winners and Martina Voss-Tecklenburg’s side boast plenty of world-class quality in the likes of Alexandra Popp, Sara Dabritz and Lea Schuller. They face big underdogs Morocco in their opening game and the Atlas Lionesses will make history as the first Arab team to play at a Women’s World Cup, having shown their class during a surprise run to the final of last year’s Africa Cup of Nations.
Monday also sees Brazil and their 37-year-old superstar Marta kick things off with a clash against Panama, while Italy beat Argentina 1-0 in the first game of the day as veteran striker Cristian Girelli came off the bench to grab the winner.
Elsewhere, France suffered a blow early in their campaign as they were held to a 0-0 draw by a battling Jamaica, who earned a first-ever Women’s World Cup point. That came a day after England began with a win but the Lionesses were pushed all the way by Haiti in what was a close contest in Brisbane. Georgia Stanway’s retaken penalty in the first half was enough to earn England a narrow victory, but goalkeeper Mary Earps had to make a big stop to protect their lead late on.
Follow the latest World Cup scores, updates and news in today’s live blog
