Women's World Cup 2019: As it happened- Ellen White's brace seals 100% win record for Lionesses

A brace from Ellen White (14' and 84') ensured that the Lionesses sailed to the round of 16 with three wins in three matches. Here's how the action unfolded:

Updated : Jun 20, 2019 02:36 IST

 

That's all from Group D, and from me tonight. Argentina's fate will depend on the matches tomorrow, so stay tuned for all the action. Thanks for joining us - this is Manasi Pathak signing off. Thank you!

- England (9 pts), Japan (4 pts) are through to the round of 16. Argentina (2 pts) is in contention to qualify as one of the four best third-place finishers.

- At the end of Group D fixtures, the standings are as follows: 1) ENGLAND 2) JAPAN 3) ARGENTINA 4) SCOTLAND

FULL TIME: JAPAN 0-2 ENGLAND - Ellen White's dual strikes (14' and 84')  keeps England at the top of Group D, as it ensures three points today.

90+2' Meanwhile - Argentina misses the penalty as Bonsegundo, who scored the second goal, aims for the bottom left corner but is denied. However, the penalty is being re-taken as the goalkeeper was off her line. Bonsegundo does not miss in the second chance, and Argentina rejoices! 3-3 at Parc des Princes.

84' GOAL! JAPAN 0-2 ENGLAND. Ellen White scores a brace! Carney, from the left, finds an onrushing White who makes no mistake to send the ball beyond the reach of Yamashita between the sticks.

81' Sameshima's lobbed ball is aimed for Sugasawa in front of the goal; the substitute gets her foot to it as she rises up but the attempt just misses the mark.

79' Group D is witnessing a lot of drama in Paris where Argentina has registered the second goal- Florencia Bonsegundo on the scoresheet this time. The two goals in quick succession from Argentina won't do any good to Scotland's goal difference, as mentioned before.

78' OVER! Sugasawa is a giving a tough time to Neville's Lionesses. The attacker is fed a ball from the right wing, she chests it down and volleys it to the goal, but it flies over the post.

74' Meanwhile - Argentina has registered its first goal of the tournament as Milagros Menedez opens the account for Argentina! Although it does not hold a chance to progress to the next round, the goal will affect Scotland's goal difference, which plays an important role in its odds of further qualification. For more updates on this match, click here .

73' Japanese midfield wins the ball from the English defence and it is Sugasawa who twists and turns before shooting from a long range. She keeps it low but doesn't add power to it, which allows Bardsley to easily collect it.

69' Meanwhile, Scotland has now added its third goal, thanks to Erin Cuthbert. It is now certain that Scotland is in contention of qualifying to the next round on account of being one of the four best third-placed teams.

66' SLOPPY! A loose backpass from the English defence gifts Sugasawa the chance to level things up. The substitute hesitates before unleashing the shot, which allows Houghton the time to put in a tackle, which clears the danger.

59' CHANCE! Bronze crosses the ball for Duggan inside the box and the Barcelona player volleys it in, however Yamashita puts her hand to the ball and denies England a chance to double its lead.

56' 14,319 supporters at the Allianz Riviera today to witness this match. Will England succeed in retaining its lead? Just over half an hour pending.

54' Iwabuchi and Endo combine well by joining in from the left flank to set Nakajima up just outside the box. Nakajima gets the ball but totally fails to connect.

49' News coming in from Scotland vs Argentina - Scotland has doubled its lead, thanks to Jennifer Beatie. The fight for the four best third-place finishers is on! Here's an explainer which talks about how those four teams will be chosen - Rule of thirds: Who are the best third-place teams in the Women's World Cup?

46' Coldplay's Sky Full of Stars goes off in the background, and the players take centre stage again. Second half begins.

- With the two 1-0 scorelines at Allianz Riviera and Parc des Princes, the standings are as follows- 1) England 2) Japan 3) Scotland 4) Argentina

HALF TIME:  JAPAN 0-1 ENGLAND : Ellen White's goal keeps the Lionesses in the lead at the break.

43' England is allowing Japan to keep the ball in the middle of the pitch now as it is unable to break into the final third and the England defence looks pretty comfortable.

34' SAVE! Yamashita gets her finger tips to Daly's attempt from close range - after Walsh set her up with a lobbed ball - and clears the ball for a corner kick. Nothing comes off it.

32' Shimzu and Komayashi try to trouble the English defenders, trying to make their way into the box but England's back-four do well to clear it.

27' We are edging closer to the half-hour mark : England has done well since its opener, despite Japan looking more lethal in the opening minutes. As it stands, England will progress to the round of 16 as the table topper.

STAT:  When scoring the opening goal of a Women’s World Cup match, England has never lost, winning 10 and drawing two of the 12 previous instances the Lionesses have done so.

20' News coming in from Parc des Princes that Scotland has gotten the lead through Kim Little!

18' SAVE! Scott this time with the effort, she drills the ball towards the bottom corner and Yamashita has to make a diving save to tip the ball around the post.

15' GOAL! JAPAN 0-1 ENGLAND. Ellen White opens the account for England as she adds her second goal of the tournament. Stanway sets White free as the latter runs into the box and gets the better of her marker Sugita. White chases the onrushing goalkeeper and takes a shot, which deflects off a Japanese defender to enter the net.

13' Daly and Duggan do a one-two before they let Stanway take charge, who shoots from distance. The ball is cleared for a corner kick. Scot sends in a header from it, but it misses the mark. Duggan takes another corner and the final action comes from Stanway again, who releases a shot from distance, that flies over the bar.

9' SAVE! Yokoyama steps up for a free-kick. From nearly 40 yards out, she aims for the top left corner- her shot is perfectly timed and has the required power too - but Bardsley dives to her right to get her finger tips on the shot to avert the danger. What an effort from the goalkeeper!

5' Japan has its first shot on target as Yokoyama receives the ball from the right wing. She makes space for herself just outside the box before releasing a shot, which flies over.

3' Early action from the Lionesses, who try to attack from the right wing. Daly runs through the flank and puts in a cross inside the box, which is headed away.

1' KICKOFF. HERE WE GO, FOLKS!

- 21 of the 23 players in the Japanese squad play in the Japanese league. Of the 11 starting today, only Saki Kumagai is based overseas.

- In case you missed it, England's Toni Duggan features in today's match after missing the first two due to injury.

- The teams walk out on the field as The White Stripes' 'Seven Nation Army' plays in the background. Kickoff soon!

- The second-placed team of Group D will be put up against Netherlands or Canada.

The winner of this match, which also would be the table topper as mentioned earlier - will be up against either China, Cameroon, New Zealand, Chile or Thailand.

 

- Although both teams are through to the next round, the winner of this match will have an advantage as it will be the table topper and will be pitted against one of the four best third-place finishers. Coach Neville had earlier mentioned that he aims for seven wins at the World Cup - hereby making his intention of a 100% win record very clear.

 

 

-  The team news is out. England coach Phil Neville has had a handful of changes from the match against Argentina - a total of eight new players walk into the starting XI, as compared to the last fixture. On the other hand, Japan has settled for two changes.

- Japan faces familiar foe England today in the final Group D fixture. The two teams clashed in the 2015 World Cup final, which saw the Japanese women get the better of the Lionesses in a 2-1 result. Can Japan repeat the result today? Stay tuned.

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