England defender Alex Greenwood is confident vital new connections are forming in camp that will see an improved display when the Lionesses take on Denmark in their second World Cup game on Friday.

Georgia Stanway’s retaken penalty was enough to secure England a nervy 1-0 victory in their opener against underdogs Haiti, but did little to ease concerns about their attack as it extended the streak without a goal from open play to three matches.

Yet this is a much-changed line-up from last summer’s European Championship triumph, with Sarina Wiegman’s starting line-up in Brisbane showing five changes from the one that lifted that trophy almost a year ago.

Greenwood, who replaced now-forward Rachel Daly at left-back against Haiti, said: “I was prepared. I knew my role in the team and whether that’s centre-back or that’s left-back, we’ve all played in those positions before whether that’s at club or country.

“We might not play together every week at club level, but we’re very familiar with each other.

“And that’s in training, we’ve been in training camp for three weeks together before the tournament started, and that’s enough time to prepare for your partnerships.

“You build up relationships, but as a tournament starts those things develop naturally as well. So for us, again, it’s just about keeping doing that in training, keeping forming those partnerships and eventually it will come together.

“I think it’s a case of coming together and trying different things with different people. Everyone has different strengths, and our wingers are all so gifted in different ways.

“Whoever you play with you try and play to their strengths.”

Greenwood will hope it comes together sooner rather than later as the world number four Lionesses now face much higher-ranked opponents than debutants Haiti, number 53 in FIFA’s global table, in 13th-placed Denmark.

England’s defence face a particularly potent challenge in ex-Chelsea forward Pernille Harder, while Wiegman’s forwards will need to find the finishing touch after squandering numerous chances in their opener.

While she would not speculate over potential changes to the starting line-up, Greenwood added: “I don’t know about changes in personnel, but I think for us coming away from the game, we definitely created chances and had chances to score more goals.

“That’s not a concern. We know we’ve got to put the ball in the back of the net when we have those chances and I think that will come.

“We’ve got enough players, enough quality in this team to create the chances and to put the ball in the back of the net.”

Georgia Stanway’s retaken first-half penalty was enough to earn England a nervy 1-0 victory over World Cup debutants Haiti in their Group D opener at Brisbane Stadium.

This was not the decisive victory most had predicted for the European champions and world’s number-four side against a team 49 places below them in the FIFA rankings.

Haiti came close to levelling more than once, including a late second-half chance denied at the last by Mary Earps’ outstretched foot.

While the Lionesses ultimately walked away with all three points, it was an underwhelming performance that will leave boss Sarina Wiegman with plenty of questions ahead of Thursday’s meeting with Denmark.

England fans were out in full force ahead of kick-off in the Queensland capital, where ‘Football’s Coming Home’ could be heard from a riverside rally and ex-Arsenal forward Ian Wright posed in a Lotte Wubben-Moy shirt beneath Story Bridge.

For so much of the build-up of this tournament, the conversation around the Lionesses centred on their ongoing dispute with the Football Association over bonus payments and other commercial issues.

On a clear Thursday night, England wanted their football to do the talking, yet it was Haiti who enjoyed the first spell of attack, winning an early corner before Chloe Kelly, the hero in last summer’s Euro 2022 final, tested Haiti goalkeeper Kerly Theus with a curled effort.

One of the biggest dilemmas for Wiegman ahead of this tournament was who she would entrust as her number nine and – for this opener at least – it was Alessia Russo who led the England attack and rolled an early effort at Theus.

England fans, who by the noise inside the stadium comprised the majority of those in attendance, felt their hearts leap to their throats when Roselord Borgella broke free and was one-on-one with Earps but rolled her effort past the far post.

The Lionesses thought they had won a least a penalty when Dayana Pierre-Louis clattered into 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 Russo had committed a foul in the build-up.

Soon after that decision, however, Batcheba Louis was punished for a handball and Stanway stepped up to the spot.

Theus sparked a jubilant Haitian celebration when she saved Stanway’s first effort, but VAR again intervened and Venezuelan referee Emikar Calderas ruled the keeper had encroached and the penalty was retaken.

Stanway did not make the same mistake twice as she fired low into the left corner for what felt like an uneasy lead at the end of a stop-start first half.

Melchie Dumornay, the 19-year-old midfielder bound for Lyon after this tournament, forced Earps into a leaping save shortly after the restart before Russo was twice denied in quick succession.

Chelsea’s Lauren James made her World Cup debut after replacing Hemp, just ahead of another nervy moment for England when Dumornay found Haiti skipper Nerilia Mondesir in plenty of space before Jess Carter recovered the ball.

James tried to get something started by delivering a cross to Russo, who came close but saw her attempt tipped over the crossbar, before Bright skied an effort and Theus picked crosses from Alex Greenwood and James out of the air.

On came Rachel Daly for Russo in the 76th minute as Haiti pushed for an equaliser, which nearly came via Roseline Eloissaint but for the outstretched foot of Earps to deny the substitute from 18 yards out.

Carter’s well-timed challenge broke up another Haiti run into the Lionesses’ final third, with Earps able to punch away the resulting corner.

The chances came for the Lionesses to double their advantage but never the finishing touch as England finished with the result, but probably not the performance, they wanted.

England defender Alex Greenwood says the Lionesses are keeping their egos firmly in check as they begin their quest for a maiden World Cup title in a week’s time.

Greenwood’s first experience of the global showpiece was in 2015, when the Lionesses achieved a team-best third-place finish in Canada, and alongside Lucy Bronze is one of just two players on manager Sarina Wiegman’s current roster to have featured in three consecutive World Cups.

Perhaps more than any previous edition, the Lionesses enter this tournament firmly among the favourites to go all the way and unseat two-time defending champions the United States after winning the Euro 2022 final to lift their first major trophy.

Asked how she would rate the sense of belief in the England camp, Greenwood said: “We’re European champions for a reason. High but very humble as well, and we’re a team that’s hard-working and a team I think that’s focused on the job in hand, but I think right now the focus is on the first game and not past that.”

The Lionesses, fourth in the FIFA world rankings, will first take on Haiti – 49 places below them – in Brisbane before travelling to Sydney to face 13th-placed Denmark and conclude the group stage in Adelaide against China, who are 14th.

For the first time the competition has expanded to 32 teams, with the top two from each group progressing to the knockouts. The prize pot has also increased to 110 million US dollars (£84.7million), more than three times what was on offer at the 2019 World Cup in France though still paling in comparison to the 440 million US dollars (£337m) distributed after the 2022 men’s World Cup in Qatar.

That progress is what makes this third trip particularly special for 29-year-old tournament veteran Greenwood, who has played her club football with Manchester City since 2020.

Speaking after a team training session at Queensland’s Sunshine Coast Stadium, she said: “It’s the biggest Women’s World Cup we’ve had in history. It speaks for itself and I think the capability of teams in this tournament is huge.

“The excitement for the tournament, what women’s football’s done and where we’re at now makes it a more attractive tournament if you want to say. But yeah, I think year-on-year and tournament-on-tournament the game’s growing and this one speaks for itself.”

The Lionesses left England on July 5 and have been staying on the Sunshine Coast, where they’ve spotted kangaroos roaming the hotel grounds and have been able to enjoy local highlights from whale-watching to observing animals at the zoo.

On Monday England will transfer to their team hotel in Brisbane ahead of their Haiti encounter.

Keeping busy has helped alleviate some of the hardship of the long distance from loved ones and missing the comforts of home, a situation Greenwood mitigates by looking at the bigger picture.

She added: “I think the dream and what we want to achieve remains consistent in my mind. So that makes obviously the sacrifice and being halfway around the world from your family a lot easier, but obviously I feel very blessed and lucky to be in this position.

“So I grab the opportunity with both hands and want to make everyone proud really.”

Khadija 'Bunny' Shaw has already prompted comparisons to Erling Haaland for her goalscoring exploits, and a Manchester City team-mate believes she can be the world's best player.

Jamaica striker Shaw has scored 26 goals in 23 games in all competitions for City this season, including 15 in 15 in the Women's Super League.

The 26-year-old has averaged a goal every 86 minutes in the league – not quite on par with men's star Haaland, who has scored every 76 minutes in the Premier League, but close enough for onlookers to note the similarities.

City manager Gareth Taylor did not shy away from comparisons between the "pretty remarkable" pair last week, explaining how both are "so mentally strong".

It is that quality that might yet make Shaw the world's best, with England defender Alex Greenwood backing her City colleague.

"I'm not surprised she's doing what she is doing, and she still has so many levels to go to, which is quite frightening to be honest," Greenwood told BBC Sport.

"I think she can be the best in the world if she wants to be. She has all the attributes to be the best in the world.

"I know how hard she works in training. It's the reason she's flourishing right now.

"She's been really strong for us, so we just need to keep feeding her, keep giving her the ball, and the rest she'll take care of."

Manchester City's Alex Greenwood has penned a three-year contract extension, fixing her future ahead of next year's World Cup.

The 29-year-old, who signed for City in 2020, has agreed to extend her stay at the club until June 2026.

Greenwood, a member of England's Euro-winning squad under Sarina Wiegman earlier this year, has made 80 appearances for City.

"Feeling settled at a club for me is so important," she told the club's official website. "I just love being here."

"I have a really good relationship with Gareth, and the way he wants us to play marries up exactly with how I want to. It's the perfect match for me."

"We just want to keep winning football matches and trophies, which is what we expect of ourselves here. It's an exciting time to be at City."

Greenwood's secure future will prove one less distraction for her and hands a boost to the Lionesses, who will hope to replicate European success on the world stage in 2023.

Having lost the 2019 World Cup final with the Netherlands, boss Wiegman is looking to go one better next year, though she knows the greatest performance of a lifetime can still fall short.

"If you play your best game, like the England men did against France, [it could] be a win, could be a tie, could be a defeat," she told The Guardian.

"But you can be proud of yourself because you played at your highest level. You're going to be devastated by not winning, but at the end you can be proud because you did everything that's in your control.

"That's how I approach it. Don't always think of the result. We're not going to a World Cup just to play, we're going there to win."

The World Cup will take place in Australia and New Zealand in July and August.

Manchester City's Alex Greenwood has penned a three-year contract extension, fixing her future ahead of next year's World Cup.

The 29-year-old, who signed for City in 2020, has agreed to extend her stay at the club until June 2026.

Greenwood, a member of England's Euro-winning squad under Sarina Wiegman earlier this year, has made 80 appearances for City.

"Feeling settled at a club for me is so important," she told the club's official website. "I just love being here."

"I have a really good relationship with Gareth, and the way he wants us to play marries up exactly with how I want to. It's the perfect match for me."

"We just want to keep winning football matches and trophies, which is what we expect of ourselves here. It's an exciting time to be at City."

Greenwood's secure future will prove one less distraction for her and hands a boost to the Lionesses, who will hope to replicate European success on the world stage in 2023.

Having lost the 2019 World Cup final with the Netherlands, boss Wiegman is looking to go one better next year, though she knows the greatest performance of a lifetime can still fall short.

"If you play your best game, like the England men did against France, [it could] be a win, could be a tie, could be a defeat," she told The Guardian.

"But you can be proud of yourself because you played at your highest level. You're going to be devastated by not winning, but at the end you can be proud because you did everything that's in your control.

"That's how I approach it. Don't always think of the result. We're not going to a World Cup just to play, we're going there to win."

The World Cup will take place in Australia and New Zealand in July and August.