Manchester United goalkeeper helps England win narrowly at the Women's World Cup.

Australia and England needed saves from Mary Earps to secure a 1-0 victory over Haiti in Group D of the 2023 Women's World Cup on July 22nd.

Goal: Stanway (29' pen).

The reigning European champions are considered strong contenders for the Women's World Cup title, possessing a talented generation of players in their prime. However, Sarina Wiegman's team failed to impress in their victory against world number 53 Haiti.

Goalkeeper Earps (in yellow) helps England keep a clean sheet against Haiti. Photo: Reuters — Goalkeeper Earps (in yellow) helps England keep a clean sheet against Haiti. Photo: *Reuters*

He was superior to his opponent, but only managed a single goal from a penalty kick taken by Georgia Stanway in the 29th minute. Even then, the number 8 player needed two attempts to score. Stanway missed the first attempt but was given a second chance because the Haitian goalkeeper left the goal line too early.

The match saw VAR intervened several times in the first half, with each team benefiting from it once. In the 19th minute, England seemed to be awarded a penalty after Pierre-Louis fouled Kelly inside the penalty area, but luckily for the CONCACAF side, England's Alessia Russo had fouled a Haitian defender beforehand.

A few minutes later, it was England's turn to benefit from VAR. They scored thanks to Stanway's second penalty. Leading 1-0, England failed to capitalize on their momentum to find another goal. Instead, they nearly conceded at the end of the half when Borgella's header went wide of the post.

Haiti surprisingly traded blows with the world's fourth-ranked team in the second half. It was only thanks to the brilliance of goalkeeper Mary Earps that the "Three Lions" kept a clean sheet in their opening match. Mary Earps twice saved England from certain goals, in the 50th and 81st minutes, after close-range shots from Haiti.

Haiti's defeat to the world's fourth-ranked team means that CONCACAF representatives have yet to win a match at the Women's World Cup. Since 1991, no team has won their opening match in their first World Cup appearance.

In the other match of Group D, Denmark secured three points against China, thanks to their only shot on target in the match, in the 90+1 minute. In the next round of matches on July 28th, Haiti will face China while Denmark will play England women's team.

Vy Anh

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