England are off and running at this World Cup, but this was not a performance that will strike fear into their tournament rivals.
The Lionesses were 1-0 winners over their Group D opponents Haiti, with midfielder Georgia Stanway’s first-half penalty the only goal of the game.
It punctuated what was otherwise a scrappy and chaotic match, with England never really finding their groove.
In fact they will have been relieved to have left Brisbane with all three points as twice in the second-half goalkeeper Mary Earps had to make two big saves. Perhaps, Nike will have a rethink about not selling her shirt after this.
Haiti, ranked 53rd in the world, deserve plenty of credit for their performance, as much as the criticism of England is justified. They made it exceptionally hard for the Lionesses and, on this evidence, will fancy their chances of sneaking into the knockout stages.
England have taken a big step towards that with this win and, in tournament football, results are the most important thing. It was only a year ago when the Lionesses kicked off Euro 2022 with a tame 1-0 win, and that turned out alright in the end.
The Lionesses had over 70 per cent of the possession in the first half of this game, however it did not feel like it. It was a scrappy and chaotic opening 45 minutes, with Haiti making it very difficult for England to find any rhythm.
In the build-up to this Group D opener, Wiegman had described Haiti as “opportunistic” an “unpredictable”- and they lived up that billing. They hassled and harried England, disrupting their patterns of play, while they carried their own threat on the break too.
Teenage forward Melchie Dumornay, who has just signed for Lyon, was arguably the best player on the pitch and caused England problems, with captain Millie Bright understandably looking rusty after making her first appearance in four months.
England took the lead in the 29th minute and, in keeping with the first half, it came in chaotic fashion.
The Lionesses had already had one penalty shout turned away by VAR. Chloe Kelly had her shin raked by Dayana Pierre-Louis, who was booked for the tackle, but the penalty wasn’t given due to a foul by Alessia Russo in the build-up.
Minutes later, VAR was on England’s side as it spotted Batcheba Louis bizarrely handballing a corner that was bound for Lucy Bronze’s head.
The drama didn’t stop there, though, as Kerly Theus made a stunning save to deny Stanway, only for VAR to intervene again and ping her for being off her line.
Georgia Stanway fires #ENG ahead 🙌
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) July 22, 2023
No mistake this time! Stanway confident and assured scores England's first goal at #FIFAWWC! pic.twitter.com/kuhsGwrU7x
Second time around, Stanway made no mistake and England had the lead that they hoped would settle their nerves.
It didn’t, however, and the game remained in the balance as Haiti continued to punch well above their weight.
Earps was forced into an excellent save to stop Dumornay’s effort from outside the box and it was a warning of how fragile a one-goal lead is.
England were having moments of joy going forward, Russo twice went close with shots and Lauren James was thrown on with 30 minutes to go as Wiegman looked for the second goal that would kill the game.
It never came and instead England were forced to hang on, with Earps getting down low to prevent substitute Roseline Eloissaint from levelling the game. Had it gone in, it would have created one of the biggest shocks in women’s football history.
England and Wiegman will breathe a huge sigh of relief after this.
