England players celebrate Georgia Stanway’s penalty kick goal Saturday in a Women’s World Cup match against Haiti in Brisbane, Australia. England won, 1-0. Aisha Schulz/Associated Press
BRISBANE, Australia — The champions of Europe had to struggle for a 1-0 win over a Haiti lineup feeding off Melchie Dumornay’s forays through the England defense and Kerly Theus’ series of athletic saves in its Women’s World Cup debut on Saturday.
The difference between the world’s No. 4-ranked team and the unheralded, under-resourced, 53rd-ranked team from strife-torn Haiti came down to a handball.
A retaken penalty from Georgia Stanway in the 29th minute was enough for England to earn three points, the primary objective for England in its Group D opener. But it did expose some deficiencies in Manager Sarina Wiegman’s injury-depleted team.
“Haiti were unpredictable, they’re very transitional. That’s what they showed,” Wiegman said. “We were struggling with that.
“The win is the most important thing, but now we need the final thing in finishing our chances.”
England had 19 shots, including 10 on target. Theus made a succession of saves to keep Haiti in the contest, even stopping Stanway’s first penalty attempt before a VAR review ruled encroachment and gave the England midfielder a second chance – which she drilled inside the left post.
Haiti, drawing on players based mainly in France and the U.S., wanted to bring some positive news to a country in turmoil. For Haiti’s players, the narrow loss could be viewed as a win, of sorts.
“We’re very proud of our performance,” Coach Nicolas Delépine said. “We’ve worked very hard and it was a huge test for us. We were very close to England, but there are always things we can do better on the pitch.”
The 19-year-old Dumornay regularly troubled the England defense and created opportunities, but Haiti couldn’t quite finish.
The underdogs were within inches of a late equalizer, only for England goalkeeper Mary Earps to make a reflex save in the 81st minute in a close-range, 1-on-1 with substitute forward Roseline Éloissaint.
“I can say if we do that against England, we can do anything against anyone,” Dumornay said.
DENMARK 1, CHINA 0: Amalie Vangsgaard, a late substitute, scored in the 90th minute as Denmark won its tournament opener in Perth, Australia.
With time running out in a game of few chances, Vangsgaard rose to head home Pernille Harder’s corner kick.
The victory put Denmark at the top of Group D alongside England. Those two teams meet Friday in Sydney.
JAPAN 5, ZAMBIA 0: Hinata Miyazawa scored a pair of goals, and Mina Tanaka and Jun Endo each added a goal and an assist as Japan rolled to a win in Hamilton, New Zealand.
Miyazawa found the back of the net with one-time finishes on either side of halftime to secure an easy win over the Copper Queens in what was their World Cup debut.
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