England 1-0 Haiti (Stanway P 29’)
SUNCORP STADIUM — These are the nights that go down in World Cup folklore, if only because they are as unpredictable as they are chaotic.
England beat Haiti – sure. That much could have been foreseen, the European champions pitted against the world’s 53rd-ranked nation competing on the biggest stage of all for the first time.
Yet if these are the occasions the Lionesses have been dreaming of since they announced themselves among the favourites last year, they cannot have envisaged it panning out quite like this.
We wanted competition at this World Cup and got it. More is the pity that so much of Haiti’s good work was undone by a moment of lost judgment in the build-up to Georgia Stanway’s opening penalty. When future refereeing guidebooks are written, the law for “hands in an unnatural position” will probably be accompanied by an image of Batcheba Louis, both arms outstretched as she tussled with Lucy Bronze.
Perhaps it was a vain attempt to spare Kerly Theus, the goalkeeper standing at just 5’4, from having to come high. But for all of 30 seconds, Theus became the miniscule hero of Haiti, batting away Stanway’s spot-kick until replays showed she had trespassed off her line. Cue the retake, from which Stanway made no mistake, slotting it into the bottom left-hand corner.
No doubt about that one. England had already been denied one penalty, Dayana Pierre-Louis scraping a stud down Chloe Kelly’s shin. VAR had dictated a push from Alessia Russo, and Pierre-Louis found herself lucky to get away with not only no penalty but just a yellow card.
England did their own “getting away with it” too, Leah Williamson’s absence continuing to be sorely felt. After the welcome sight of Millie Bright on media duties on Friday, confirming she had been passed fit, there were obvious signs of the rustiness which is inevitable after months on the sidelines after knee surgery.
Within two minutes of kick-off, she had conceded possession, Nerilia Mondesir directing it straight to danger woman Melchie Dumornay. Alex Greenwood eventually stopped the move out wide, but it might have been the most extraordinary start.
There was always a feeling Bright was on course for the World Cup, or Sarina Wiegman might have thought twice about making her captain.
It says much about her importance at centre-back, particularly without Williamson, that her presence is vital even when there were glimpses of her struggling fitness, failing to win a header that allowed Dumornay through to tee up Roselord Borgella for another opening. Borgella was only denied a goal late on by the feet of Mary Earps at full stretch.
It is Dumornay, at just 19, who has become the face of Haitian football, earning a move to Paris Saint-Germain with 14 goals in 21 games last season. From her acrobatic overhead kick to a strike of such power that it forced an unwitting Earps to spring into action, she embodied the “have a go” spirit of her teammates.
Defender Jennyfer Limage put it best: “God can give you one opportunity, maybe two, but not a third.” Haiti were not just grateful to be taking part – they are here with something to prove. That made it all the more heartbreaking when Limage fell down screaming and had to be carried from the pitch with a horror knee injury. Her World Cup is almost certainly over.
England, by contrast, dominated possession but began as if they had everything to lose. The only danger was that they would crack under pressure of their own making. Inexperience is no real reason for that – 16 of the squad are playing at their first World Cup but all of the starting XI were part of the European Championship-winning group. It looks like the upcoming matches against Denmark and China will be a test of England’s mental mettle as much as their innate quality, which should see them top the group easily.
At the start of Wiegman’s reign, when England were beating Luxembourg and North Macedonia 10-0, she was not content, insisting she would learn nothing about her players from games of that margin. It is testament to the growth of the game that fixtures like this can still be enthralling, even when they are brutally physical and all the statistics on paper suggest they have been one-sided in England’s favour.
Haiti’s biggest fear was not losing, but going the same way as Zambia, their fellow debutants, beaten 5-0 by Japan earlier in the day – and it could have been more.
It remains to be seen whether Alessia Russo starting in Brisbane means she will be ahead of Rachel Daly in the pecking order for the foreseeable future. Tabita Joseph largely managed to keep her under control, and her best header was tipped over the crossbar by Theus – who has three feet to make up just to reach the woodwork. Daly was swapped in for the last 15 minutes but she may well have found it difficult to do any more than Russo with England’s build-up play sloppy.
Still, it is worth remembering that they began last summer’s Euros with a 1-0 win against Austria and they have at least learned important lessons. Bright will benefit from the minutes, Wiegman has been given a decision to make as to whether to start Ella Toone after a quiet evening (barring one flash backheel), and Lauren James’ introduction felt inevitable to inject some life once England’s attack had dipped.
It did not need to be perfect and just as well – but given all that has happened in the months leading here, England will be happy to have avoided a humbling at the end of a bruising induction to this tournament.
Analysis: VAR a let-down again
With the caveat that VARs have been flat-out at this World Cup so far – this game kept up the tournament’s record of a penalty in every single match so far – Fifa’s tweaks have not been without teething issues.
Referees have been instructed to announce their decisions over the PA system, but Fifa issued a caution earlier this week that language barriers – and confidence – could limit the information given.
Inevitably, that has proven true. The announcements of “penalty” or “no penalty” gave no real insight and were a hark back to the first days of VAR, when being at the ground put you at an immediate disadvantage over watching at home.
That is before time added on is even considered. Referees at this World Cup have also been instructed to implement longer periods of injury time, as was seen at the men’s World Cup in Qatar, to clamp down on periods lost to goal celebrations, treatments for injuries and substitutions. Long VAR delays are only going to elongate proceedings even further.
Player of the match: Melchie Dumornay (Haiti) 8/10
Haiti suffered a huge scare when Dumornay went down in a collision with Russo, but once she had recovered, she caused England’s ragged defence some serious issues, linking up brilliantly with Borgella and unlucky not to have ended the night with a goal.
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