A week into the 2023 Women’s World Cup and we await England’s second match on Friday 28th July against Denmark.
The Lionesses scored a 1-0 victory over tournament debutants Haiti on Saturday after Georgia Stanway scored from a retaken penalty in the 29th minute which secured their win in England’s opening match of the tournament. Although England managed 10 shots on target, an amazing performance from Haiti’s goalkeeper Kerly prevented a greater scoring match including saving Stanway’s initial penalty which was then retaken.
England’s victory was rather unconvincing as the Lionesses entered the competition as one of the favourites and as European Champions. While the three points gained places England in a positive place within Group D, England struggled to break down Haiti’s defence despite having taken the lead early on in the match which suggests there are lessons to be learnt from the match as the team move forward in the tournament.
In Group D’s other opening match, Denmark defeated China 1-0 following a 90th minute goal from substitute Amalie Vangsgaard who had only been on the pitch for five minutes prior to her winning strike. Denmark’s victory marked the team’s triumphant return to the Women’s World Cup after 16 years in an exciting moment. While China fought hard, particularly during the second half of the match, including almost equalising during the dramatic six minutes of added time, they were ultimately defeated.
These results place England and Denmark at the top of Group D ahead of the second round of Group D matches which will be played on Friday as England face Denmark in Sydney while China will play Haiti in Adelaide.
The European champions go into the match on Friday as ½ favourites with Bet365 while Skybet, Betvictor and Coral have the Lionesses at 4/9 to defeat Denmark.
The Manchester based bookie BetFred have the two teams at 3/1 to draw, suggesting a close result and an exciting match between the two European teams who are rivals within Group D and have much to play for as the knockout stages approach.
Denmark are ranked 13th in the world and are England’s greatest competition within the group. The last match played between the two teams, a friendly in 2019, resulted in a 2-0 victory for England thanks to goals from Jill Scott and Nikita Parris. However, the team is without many of its key players due to injury such as 2022 Golden Boot Winner Beth Mead, Leah Williamson and Fran Kirby among other star performers leaving the Lionesses’ fate difficult to predict. Injuries amid the team have certainly disrupted preparations ahead of the World Cup and may continue to affect the team’s performance in the tournament.
Denmark manager Lars Sondegaard described England as one of the “biggest nations” in women’s football and is cautious about the Lioness’ abilities which may pose a threat to her team. There is a lot at stake for both teams as a Danish win would almost guarantee the team to progress to the next round and make England’s position very uncertain.
Leave a Reply
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.