USA and England open World Cup with wins but leave room for improvement

The current European champions and the winners of the last three World Cups all got their respective tournaments under way in a blockbuster Saturday as things start to heat up down under three days into the action. 

All three of England, USA and Japan won, but with various different fortunes while doing it. Sarina Wiegman’s Lionesses had some poor finishing, solid Haiti defending and Mary Earps to thank for scraping a 1-0 win against the Caribbean side. USA did enough to beat fellow debutants Vietnam 3-0, while another debutant in Zambia disappointed against the 2011 winners. 

England and USA are the defending European and world champions respectively and the two bookies favourites to win the tournament, but both will know there is work to do after an opening day that saw plusses and minuses. 

The caveat is both are having to reinvent themselves. Both are under different coaches to 2019, both are carrying key injuries to attackers and their centre-back/captain, and therefore both are having to find new ways of adapting to the hands they’ve been dealt. 

The USA kicked Saturday off in the early hours of the morning European time, and it was no surprise to see the sublime Sophia Smith take centre stage, with two goals and one assist seeing the Portland Thorns forward contribute to all three goals. 

It was an interesting setup from Vlatko Andonovski. Julie Ertz slotted in at centre-back with Becky Sauerbrunn out, allowing her to progressively play out from the back, while the experienced Savannah DeMelo started in the number 10 role, and did well.  

The attack though is where the US look exciting. Alex Morgan and Trinity Rodman started with Smith, with Alyssa Thompson and Megan Rapinoe in reserve if needed, and Morgan would constantly drop deep, get on the ball and allow the rapid duo of Smith and Rodman to run off her to good effect. 

Lindsey Horan was also effective, kicking off the move for, and scoring, the third. USA have work to do - they don’t look like the finished product - but they showed more than enough glimpses for opponents to be worried and will build into the tournament. 

Japan, the meat in the USA-England schedule filling, were the stars of the day though, beating an eye-catching Zambia side in convincing fashion 5-0, and it could have been more had it not been for two disallowed goals. 

Barbra Banda and Rachael Kundananji could not get into the game for the Copper Queens who failed to register a single shot on goal during the game, such was Japan’s dominance on the ball and the way they used their system to carve apart the opposition. 

Their 3-4-2-1, with Risa Shimizu and Jun Endo particularly effective as wing-backs, caused constant issues. Hinata Miyawaza, who scored twice, Yui Hasegawa and Fuka Nagano were superb in the middle, with Hasegawa and Nagano constantly pressing to win the ball back and force Zambia back towards their own goal. 

19-year-old Aoba Fujino was everywhere, literally. Sometimes she was in attack with Mina Tanaka, sometimes she was on the right wing, sometimes she was even back inside her own half as Japan, like group rivals Spain had 24 hours earlier, used movement and unpredictability to toy with their opponent, leading to a comfortable win. 

England on the other hand stuck to their principles against Haiti, in their fairly rigid 4-2-3-1 system we have become used to under head coach Sarina Wiegman. There were always question marks against the Lionesses coming into the tournament off the back of three games without a goal and missing all three of Leah Williamson, Fran Kirby and Beth Mead, so it was potentially always going to look a little rusty. 

With new Lyon superstar Melchie Dumornay looking to run them ragged every chance she got, an unsettled England defence couldn’t ever get truly comfortable. Millie Bright looked like someone who hadn’t played much this year, while Alex Greenwood’s use at left-back meant the Lionesses missed her build-up play from the back. 

Further up the field, Alessia Russo put herself about, but too often was found dropping deep, leaving very little in the box when Chloe Kelly and Lauren Hemp sent in their trademark crosses. Russo did find herself in better positions after the break, but was denied by an excellent performance in the Haiti goal by Kerly Theus. 

Ella Toone too was quiet, while Lauren James did add some unpredictability when she replaced Hemp, but couldn’t add to England’s sole penalty, meaning it’s now four games without a goal from open play. 

Rachel Daly, who had been widely tipped to start, replaced Russo and similarly struggled to break down the Haiti defence and player of the match Theus in goal, before Mary Earps had to be called upon to make a match-winning save late on. 

England have started to look almost too predictable in their want to go out wide in recent games, and opponents know that now, and it will be interesting to see how the Euro 2022 winners build through the tournament as they still adapt to the changes in personnel that have been forced on them. 

Both though would have taken some solace from the day’s last game between Group D rivals China and Denmark as neither made a huge impact on each other, particularly in attack, and Haiti may even be dreaming of a second round spot if they can put in a similarly enterprising performance in their next two games.