Brisbane, Australia: England beat Haiti 1-0 when they began their Women’s World Cup title campaign in unconvincing fashion on Saturday, but champions the United States and Japan were more comfortable.
European champions England have been described as the main challenger to the United States team chasing a third consecutive World Cup title.
But they will have to play a lot better than they did in front of almost 45,000 spectators in Brisbane, where a young Haiti side making their World Cup debut could have snatched a point at the end.
A Georgia Stanway penalty in the first half put Sarina Wiegman’s side ahead but despite having more of the ball and more of a shot, England goalkeeper Marie Erbis had to thank for preserving their narrow lead.
She pulled off a terrific left leg save with time out after Roseline Eloissaint found herself on her own with only Earps to win it.
England, who have been locked in a dispute with the FA over bonuses in the run-up to the tournament, aim to add their first World Cup title to the European title they won at Wembley last year.
“We need more cruelty,” Wegman said.
“We got so close, their defense was tough as well, but we need to keep trying, keep working on it, starting tomorrow.”
Also in Group D, Denmark clinched a 1-0 victory over China in Perth thanks to a 90th-minute goal from substitute Amalie Vangsgaard, who slotted home from close range.
In contrast to England’s overworked performance, the United States and Japan were rampant against other supposedly small countries.
The USA pulled off a 3-0 win over Vietnam – should have been a lot more – before Japan thrashed Zambia 5-0.
Sophia Smith was the star of the show for the US team at Auckland’s Eden Park, scoring twice and assisting captain Lindsey Horan for third in front of just over 41,000 fans.
The only agonizing note for Vlatko Andonovski’s side, six World Cup first-timers coming off kick-off, was their lack of finishing ability in front of goal.
They had 27 tries to Vietnam and Alex Morgan missed a penalty.
“In the end, I felt like we needed to be a little bit better with the last shot,” said the coach.
“We created chances, we had a penalty, obviously enough to score a few more goals, but there are a lot of positives from the first game into the second game.”
Next up for the Americans, who removed veteran Megan Rapinoe from the bench in the last 30 minutes, the Netherlands will be in a second round for the 2019 final. The USA won that match 2-0 to retain the title.
Japan is not seen as the threat they were in 2011, when they went on to lift the World Cup, but they have been far too good for Zambia.
Zambia are the lowest-ranked team in the World Cup, and they were on the defensive for long periods of time against a Japan side who seemed to score every time they stepped forward.
Much like the United States against Vietnam, the score already flattered the losers and Zambia could have easily lost in front of 16,111 spectators in the New Zealand city of Hamilton.
Hinata Miyazawa scored twice and Mina Tanaka, Jun Endo and Reiko Yueki were also on the scoresheet as Japan joined Spain on three points in Group C.
Spain, the other pre-tournament favourites, scored a 3-0 win over Costa Rica on Friday.
To cap off a disastrous day for Zambia, goalkeeper Kathryn Musonda was sent off at the death for picking up a second yellow card and conceding a penalty, which Yoki scored at the second attempt.
“We’re not looking for excuses – we didn’t play well tonight,” said Zambia coach Bruce Mwape.
Title contenders Sweden, France and the Netherlands play on Sunday, while the Netherlands face Portugal before facing the United States on Thursday.
The New Zealand team were temporarily evacuated off the field from their hotel in Auckland after a fire broke out, but all players and staff were safe, the team said.