England boss Sarina Wiegman felt her European champions lacked “ruthlessness” after they eked out a 1-0 victory over debutants Haiti to open their World Cup campaign at Brisbane Stadium.
Georgia Stanway’s retaken first-half penalty was ultimately enough to win her side all three points, but did little to ease concerns about the Lionesses’ attacking form after they failed to find the back of the net in their previous three encounters.
Were it not for a late second-half save from FIFA women’s goalkeeper of the year Mary Earps to deny substitute Roseline Eloissaint, the fourth-ranked Lionesses could well have ended their evening with a draw against their underdog Group D opponents, who sit 49 places below them in the FIFA rankings.
Wiegman said: “I would say (we were missing) ruthlessness. It’s easy to say, so what does that mean, ruthlessness?
“I think sometimes the connections with the cross, the timing of the cross, where the cross actually ends in the penalty box, then the connection in front of the goal, little things like that, at the end, you hope it goes in.
“I think we were very close a couple of times to scoring a goal, and then of course their defence was tough too, so we just keep trying, keep working on it and start tomorrow again.”
While Wiegman brushed off the notion that England looked rusty, reiterating they were “absolutely ready”, she was nevertheless impressed by a Haiti side she characterised as “unpredictable, very direct, very strong in the counter-attack”.
She said: “Lots of credit for Haiti for a first time in the World Cup and having a performance like that. I think the other two countries (in the group, Denmark and China) are going to really struggle with them, but of course that’s not our problem. I’m just really happy that we got the win.”
Haiti forward Roselord Borgella squandered an early chance when she found herself one-on-one with Earps but rolled her effort past the far post.
The Lionesses then thought they had won a least a penalty when Dayana Pierre-Louis clattered into Chloe Kelly on the byline and appeared to clip her knee with a stud, but the Haitian midfielder got away with just a yellow card after it was determined – following a lengthy VAR check – that Alessia Russo had committed a foul in the build-up.
Soon after that controversial decision, however, Batcheba Louis was punished for a handball and Stanway stepped up to the spot.
Though her initial effort was brilliantly saved by Kerly Theus, another VAR check determined the Haiti keeper had come off her line to make the stop and Stanway made no mistake with the resulting retake.
With the Lionesses unable to find the finishing touch in the second half, the majority England supporters in the 44,369 crowd breathed a collective sigh of relief when Earps made a brilliant save with her outstretched leg to deny Eloissaint and preserve the points.
Stanway added: “I think the most important thing to come out of it was the three points. It’s so important to win your first game in a tournament. It’s been a long build-up to today and we’re kind of happy to just get over the line.
“I think it takes a little bit to find your feet. Coming into a major tournament the pressure is high and the build-up is so long. You need those few minutes to get yourself into the game and settle, but once we did you could see the qualities that we have.”
England next face Denmark in Sydney before concluding the group stage against China in Adelaide.
Haiti boss Nicolas Delepine said: “We’re very proud of our performance. We’ve worked very hard and for us it was a huge test. We were up against the European champions.
“It was a huge test for us, we didn’t really know how to place ourselves. We weren’t sure how we were going to play, but we were able to pull it out of the bag. We were very close to England, but there are always things we can do better.”
Vlahovic out of Juventus clash with Milan
Dusan Vlahovic will miss Juventus' trip to Milan in Serie A this weekend and is also a doubt for the Champions League game at Aston Villa, head coach Thiago Motta has confirmed.
Vlahovic returned from the international break with a muscle problem in his left thigh, and the manager, after he confirmed the Serbian's absence for Saturday's game at San Siro, was asked about his chances of playing on Wednesday at Villa Park.
"I don't know. He definitely won't be there tomorrow. We hope to have him back as soon as possible," Motta told a press conference on Friday.
"Injuries are part of football. Now it's Vlahovic's turn, but we'll keep playing with the same principles, attacking and defending together."
Vlahovic is the latest of Motta's injury problems at Juventus. Argentine winger Nicolas Gonzalez missed the last six league games and is still unavailable, while Poland striker Arkadiusz Milik is a long-term absentee.
Brazilian midfielder Douglas Luiz will also miss the game with Milan and defender Juan Cabal recently suffered an Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injury, the same issue which will keep fellow defender Gleison Bremer out for the rest of the season.
"I'm really disappointed for Cabal because, like Bremer, he'll be out for a long time," Motta said.
"This is another reason to push ourselves, to commit that bit more so that these absences don't weigh too heavily."
Juventus go into the game as the only unbeaten side in Serie A but find themselves sixth in the standings in what is so far a very tight title race, with just two points separating Motta's side from leaders Napoli.
"It's very balanced and this is good for both us and the public," Motta said.
"We must all try to continue like this. We have to try to get as many positive results as possible."
Milan are one place behind Juve but six points off Motta's side.
Serie A side Genoa confirm sacking of head coach Gilardino
Serie A side Genoa have confirmed the departure of their head coach Alberto Gilardino, with Patrick Vieira reportedly on his way in.
Gilardino, a World Cup winner with Italy in 2006, leaves the club with them sitting just one point above the relegation size with 10 points from 12 matches this season.
A former striker who played for clubs including Genoa, Parma, AC Milan and Fiorentina, Gilardino took charge of Genoa in 2022 and helped them earn promotion to the top division before a 11th-place finish during the 2023-24 season.
"The club thanks Gilardino for the goals achieved together over the years and wishes him the best for his career," Genoa said in a statement.
The 42-year-old saw his side salvage a late 1-1 draw against Cesc Fabregas' Como in their last match before the international break.
Genoa were also knocked out of the Coppa Italia in the second round following a defeat to Sampdoria on penalties in September.
Arsenal legend Vieira is set to replace him, according to multiple reports.
The former France midfielder has been out of work since leaving Strasbourg by mutual consent in July.
Doncic backs Mbappe to turn fortunes around at Real Madrid
NBA superstar Luka Doncic has backed Kylian Mbappe to "figure it out" after his underwhelming start to life at Real Madrid.
Mbappe has scored eight goals in 16 games for Madrid in all competitions since joining as a free agent following the expiration of his Paris Saint-Germain contract.
He has gone four matches without a goal – a run that includes losses to Barcelona and Milan – and has been left out of France's latest squad.
However, Dallas Mavericks guard Doncic – a Real Madrid supporter due to his previous ties with the sports club – can see Mbappe turning things around.
"Obviously [their season] could be better," Doncic told Managing Madrid after the Mavericks' win over the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday.
"But when you get a guy like Mbappe, it takes some time to get used to it. We'll figure it out."
Mbappe has scored six goals in 11 LaLiga appearances for Madrid but has underperformed his season's expected goals (xG) total by 2.04.
The forward is averaging a goal every 166 minutes in all competitions this term, compared to one every 88 minutes for PSG in his last of seven seasons in Paris.
Madrid thrashed Osasuna 4-0 last time out in the league to return to winning ways but still trail leaders Barcelona by six points.
Asked about his connections with Madrid, former Los Blancos basketball player Doncic said: "I follow Real Madrid every time.
"I grew up there. They taught me everything, so it's a part of my life. You can call it a secondary home.
"I learned a lot of stuff there and, especially, they gave me a way to be here right now [in Dallas]. I always appreciate that 100%."
Madrid return to action after the international break with a trip to Leganes on Sunday.
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