England manager Sarina Wiegman believes that her side ‘struggled’ to deal with Haiti’s ‘unpredictability and transitions’ in their 1-0 win to open their Women’s World Cup campaign.
Georgia Stanway scored the Lionesses’ only goal in the first half from a retaken penalty. England had several chances to score, but Haiti went toe-to-toe with the European champions and made it difficult to play their free-flowing game.
“It was a very hard game, and I’m very happy with the three points,” said Wiegman after the final whistle.
“We struggled with their unpredictability and transitions, and they were really tough in the duels. We did create chances, but we also lost the ball at dangerous moments, and then they were gone, so that was hard for us.
“The win is the most important thing. But we need to finish our chances and be a bit better in possession, a bit faster. We’re very close to scoring in open play, so I hope we can do that in the next game.”
Wiegman also spoke on the performances of Stanway and Mary Earps, who made two crucial saves to keep a clean sheet.
“I thought Georgia was struggling in the first half. She needed to pass a bit quicker and she lost the ball a couple of times. She improved later, so that was good for the team,” she added.
“Mary didn’t have much to do, and then all of a sudden, she had to [make a big save]; that’s crucial for us, so I’m happy with that!”
Stanway also admitted that Haiti was a difficult team to face, but maintained how important it was to start with a win: “You know what, they challenged us. They were very dangerous on the counter-attack, so that’s something we’ll work on in training this week. The most important thing is that we’ve got three points.”
Up next, England will play Denmark, before facing China in their final group stage match.
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