Much like the United States on Friday evening, England was left frustrated in a 1-0 win over Haiti early Saturday morning.
Georgia Stanway scored a penalty in the 29th minute on a retake for the winning margin. Stanway’s first penalty was saved by Haitian goalkeeper Kerly Theus, but Theus was ruled to have moved off the line too early.
England entered the tournament as the No. 2 favorite behind the United States and was eyeing the Haiti game as a chance to put up a big goal performance. England had 21 shots and 11 were on target. But it couldn’t score from the run of play.
Theus made 10 saves as Haiti spent most of the match on the back foot. England should still be in very good shape to advance out of Group D and even win it easily. But posting a three- or four-goal margin in the first game would have left the English women feeling much more comfortable.
Denmark 1, China 0
Denmark is atop Group D with England after a late goal gave it a 1-0 win over China.
Amale Vangsgaard scored a header in the 89th minute after the game looked destined for a draw for much of the second half. The goal came just five minutes after Vangsgaard took the field for a substitute, and the header was fantastic.
The first half was a staid affair before Denmark had an incredible chance in the 52nd minute in front of an open goal. But Josefine Hasbo’s header went over the bar.
China takes on Haiti on Friday in the second group stage game and both teams vitally need three points. A draw gives both teams an outside shot of advancing while the loser is likely facing elimination.
Japan 5, Zambia 0
Japan romped to an easy win over Zambia overnight Friday.
The game was scoreless through the first 40 minutes before Hinata Miyazawa scored in the 43rd minute. She added a second in the 62nd minute to give Japan a 3-0 lead that sealed the game.
The margin ended up at five goals in the 101st minute after Zambia’s Catherine Musoda committed a penalty and got her second yellow card of the match. After a lengthy VAR review, Riko Ueki buried a penalty to effectively end the game.
Zambia had 40% of the possessions, but much like Vietnam against the United States, it couldn’t do anything when it had the ball. Zambia didn’t muster a single shot while Japan had 25 total shots and 11 of them were on target.
Zambia attempted to play an offside trap for much of the game as Japan was called for nine offsides.
