England struggled against Haiti, successful entry for the Japanese… What to remember about Saturday
The United States opened their title defense with a victory against Vietnam on Saturday, while Japan easily disposed of the Zambian trap. At the end of the morning the British made minimal serve against a surprising Haitian team.
The nets shook nine times. Two times defending champions, the Americans sealed a clear success against the Vietnamese who discovered the World Cup (3-0), on Saturday 22 July. Same scenario for Japan against Zambia (5-0), also a novice at this level. The English, on the other hand, did not have the expected control over the match against Haiti and came away with a narrow victory (1-0). Here’s what to remember about early weekend matches.
Haiti anything but ridiculous against the European champions
On paper it was one of the most unbalanced manifestos of the first round. But atop their status as European champions, the British struggled to win against the 53rd nation in the world. The Grenadières were not split as Georgia Stanway opened the scoring from a retired penalty (29th).
If the statistics are in favor of the Lionesses (75% ball possession and 21 shots to 7), Nicolas Delépine’s players had opportunities to equalize, from a corner played at the end of the first period (45th), from their nugget Melchie Dumornay (50th) then via the goal on goal Roseline Éloissaint whose dangerous shot was deflected with her foot by Mary Earps (82nd). If they repeat their performance against China, then Denmark, the Haitians can hope to reach eighth from their first participation in the competition.
Japan’s Mina Tanaka had to do it three times
Particularly active, Japanese striker Mina Tanaka has been in all shots, good and bad, against Zambia. On an action that recalled Antoine Griezmann’s goal denied against Tunisia in Qatar, the Inac Kobe player was first flagged in an offside position by the VAR when she thought she had opened the scoring with an eccentric free kick (22nd). Similarly, her second success was then canceled when she returned from the locker room (49th).
The third was finally the right one for the number 11, who scored her first goal of the tournament with a tackle from six meters (55th). Decisive passer to allow her teammate Hinata Miyazawa to score twice (43rd, 62nd), the 29-year-old then gave up her place to assist from the bench at the end of the Japanese recital. Knocked out in the round of 16 by the Netherlands four years ago, the Japanese returned to the World Cup with the firm intention of showing they are still part of the world gratin. Thanks to this result (5-0), the Japanese move to the top of group C ahead of Spain, thanks to a better goal difference.
Alex Morgan confirms difficulties on penalties
If the two reigning world champions secured themselves against the weak Vietnamese on the night with a 3-0 win, star Alex Morgan still had his penalty attempt rejected by the goalkeeper Tran Thi Kim Thanh. Enough to confirm a real waste of the forwards in the exercise since the beginning of the World Cup (4/8 scored).
Before her, New Zealander Ria Percival sent her shot over the Norwegian crossbar in the opener. The essentials Christine Sinclair (Canada) and Jennifer Hermoso (Spain) lost their duel against the Nigerian and Costa Rican porters. After missing her first chance, Japan’s Riko Ueki benefited from a referee’s decision to stand back and score her try from 11 metres. Same thing for England’s Georgia Stanway against Haiti.
Emmanuel Macron in favor of the organization of a match between France and Algeria
Instead of rewarding Razin and setting him up as an example, the coach is threatened by the KHL with an ambulance head-axe
update on innovations in cycling equipment
About Author
