Womens’s World Cup LIVE: England vs Haiti team news and latest updates from Lionesses game

Sophia Smith got America’s World Cup defense going with a brilliant two-goal performance against Vietnam earlier this morning.

Smith scored USA’s first goal of the tournament by completing a flowing play before adding her second goal and setting up Lindsey Horan’s third goal.

The Women’s World Cup is finally here as the biggest tournament of all time begins in Australia and New Zealand.

The inaugural 32-team Women’s World Cup looks set to be one of the widest ever as a host of sides battle to dethrone two-time champions USA.

England head down under with confidence after last summer’s EURO success on home soil, but that will also inspire co-hosts Australia and their star striker Sam Kerr.

Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the 2023 Women’s World Cup, including squad guides, players to keep an eye on and how to watch them on TV.

Japan deserve the lead and it’s a nice goal! Hinata Miyazawa completes a quick breakthrough on the right and deflects Aoba Fujino’s precise cross past Musonda to give Japan the breakthrough just before half-time.

It was as expected: Japan have played excellent football so far this half.

Catherine Musonda plays a brilliant game in the Zambian goal. She makes another good stop to parry a long-range shot from Fuka Nagano.

Barbra Banda gets her first chance to break into the Japanese penalty area, but her touch fails her and the ball goes wide.

Tournament football is all about solving problems quickly and effectively. While Sarina Wiegman, assistant Arjan Veurink and the rest of the coaching staff will draw up plans to defeat England’s World Cup opponents, much depends on how teams on the field react to what lies ahead.

This is especially true when playing against sides looking to go deep against a side featuring the undisputedly strong side of England, where unlocking the crowded backs with 10 or 11 behind the ball will be crucial.

Against cautious opponents – who England face in the group stage against Haiti, Denmark and China – it is important to create chances. Scoring goals not only gets you excited but also changes the phase of the game. It invites the opposing strikers to try to win back a hit and that has psychological effects as well. There’s nothing more discouraging than defending superbly for 20 or 30 minutes and then conceding a goal at the first real chance.

And that’s why Sarina’s biggest decision is who starts in 9th place. Rachel Daly started against Portugal before Alessia Russo replaced her at half-time. With Ellen White retired, the decision on who gets the starting jersey rests with these two.

By Lionesses legend Kelly Smith before England’s opening game

No goal! So far, Hamilton has been one-way traffic, but things remain scoreless between Zambia and Japan in Group C. Japan just got a goal disallowed after Mina Tanaka was caught offside in the opening period before the striker slipped at the end.

Zambia is holding on – they’ve barely gotten past their own half so far. Japan looks sharp.

Sarina Wiegman: “We are here and we have a dream, and of course there is always a chance to win the World Cup and I think there are many more countries that can win the World Cup, but of course we will give everything starting tomorrow.”

“The pressure is always something. Everyone expected England to win anyway. That applies to tomorrow and also last year, and also to the Austria game at the European Championship.

“So this is no different. What we’re just trying to do is play our game and focus on what we need to do and how we can win, and that’s basically what we do all the time, so we focus on what actions we need to take as a team.”

Since arriving in Australia, Sarina Wiegman has intensified work on a new system that may not be unveiled until the knockout stages. It’s an inherent admission that England aren’t in the strong position they once were, but at the same time something that could yet prove winning this World Cup.

This was reflected in the mood at camp in Australia, apart from the distraction of bonuses. There’s certainly no lack of belief, particularly Wiegman’s ability to come up with something special. It’s another benefit of a performance like winning Euro 2022. It dispels doubts and encourages an immensely strong feeling that everything will go well because the manager knows exactly what he’s doing. Because of this, big games like that quarter-final win over Spain can almost seem like they’re going exactly as Wiegman predicted.

What’s more, the manager currently has one of the most talented teams in the world. For a long time, this seemed to be the moment England had long been preparing for.

The question now is whether this moment simply comes at the wrong time.

Preview by Miguel Delaney

World Cup action continues this morning with Japan taking on Zambia in Group C.

Japan, 2011 winners, have a proud World Cup history but are prepared for this tournament to be part of their evolution down the generations.

Zambia are the lowest-ranked side at the World Cup, but they have stunned Germany in the pre-season games and have one of the most dangerous strikers in the world in captain Barbra Banda.

She scored two hat-tricks in a row at the Olympics two years ago – I’m keeping a close eye on her and Racheal Kundananji.

Haiti have nothing to lose in their debut at the Women’s World Cup as they line up in Group D alongside England, Denmark and China.

Haiti, ranked at No. 53 in the world, is one of eight teams entering the Women’s World Cup for the first time, a stage reached via the intercontinental play-offs.

Rising star Melchie Dumornay scored twice in the most recent 2-1 win over Chile and Haiti have the talent to cause more upsets when they balance their ambition with a defensive organisation.

However, Nicolas Delepine’s team faces a difficult task. In Group D they not only meet European champions England, but also Asian champions China.