Sealed by a penalty and with their opponents posing much more of a threat than expected, England’s 1-0 win over debutants Haiti was an underwhelming start to the Women’s World Cup.
Fara Williams has seen this many times before, though, and isn’t counting the Lionesses out just yet.
It was a somewhat stale performance from the Lionesses on Saturday in Brisbane, and they know they must up the ante against Denmark in Sydney on Friday.
Williams, 39, is the most-capped England women’s or men’s player in history, having made 172 appearances for the Lionesses between 2001 and 2019. She played at four European Championships and three World Cups.
“In tournament football, people won’t remember the performances”, she tells Standard Sport, comparing the Haiti victory to the Euros last summer when England won the tournament but started with a similarly stodgy 1-0 win over Austria.
“I only remember the Austria game being really poor because I was a pundit and had to be really critical. In games when they weren’t on top, they were able to find a way. If we hadn’t beaten Austria, the tournament might have been a little different.”
Williams, speaking at an event representing supplement brand Bioglan, believes the scrappy display against Haiti shouldn’t dampen the mood of England fans, but nevertheless insists winning the World Cup will be mightily tough.
“It was fantastic last summer and hopefully we can replicate that this summer, but it will be a lot harder away from home,” she says.
“As a fan, I’m thinking we can win it. As a pundit, I’m thinking it’s more difficult. There are a few nations that will be up there. England will be amongst it — quarter-final, semi-final — but there are so many nations and this World Cup could have a new name on the trophy. I think Australia and France have a really good chance.
“But we’ve learned how to win now. Knowing how to win, which is what the Americans know, really does make a difference.”
England are without captain Leah Williamson and Beth Mead for the tournament in Australia and New Zealand, but Williams sees another absentee as an even bigger miss.
“Fran Kirby is the impact that I think of”, she admits. “In tournaments, you need that one magic player. That’s the difference. She was that for us in the Euros and didn’t get spoken about enough. It went unnoticed, she was phenomenal.
“If we had no injuries, we’d have gone in as favourites. They’ve depleted out team.
“They can do it, but this is going to be far more difficult than the Euros.”
Fara Williams has partnered with supplement brand Bioglan for their second series ‘In Bioglan Balance’ alongside influencer Mat Carter to show how she finds balance in her busy life. To watch the series, visit @bioglansupplements on Instagram.
