FIFA Women’s World Cup: England coach Wiegman demands more ruthlessness after narrow Haiti win

England is expected to be the main challenger to holder the United States but it looked anything but champion as it laboured to a narrow win over Haiti.

England had 10 shots on target to Haiti’s two, without ever really clicking into top gear, and in the end, Stanway’s spot-kick (8) prove to the difference. | Photo Credit: Getty Images

Sarina Wiegman challenged her England side to be more ruthless after the European champion underwhelmed in a 1-0 win over Haiti to start its Women’s World Cup campaign on Saturday.

England is expected to be the main challenger to holder the United States but it looked anything but champion as it laboured to a narrow win over the World Cup debutant in Brisbane.

England had 10 shots on target to Haiti’s two, without ever really clicking into top gear, and in the end a first-half penalty from Georgia Stanway was the difference between the sides.

The Lionesses also needed a smart save from goalkeeper Mary Earps near the end to preserve their lead.

“We need more ruthlessness,” Wiegman, who took England to victory at last year’s Euros, said. “We went very close a couple of times, and their defence was tough too, but we need to keep trying, keep working on it, starting tomorrow.”

Match-winner Stanway said she was just relieved to have started the campaign with a win and admitted Haiti had caused them more problems than they expected.

“The most important thing is to get the three points,” she said. “It’s so important to win the first game of the tournament. It’s been a long build-up and we’re just happy to get over the line. They caused us problems, they were a threat on the counterattack.

“They were fast, they were physical and they challenged us in ways we didn’t expect. It took us a bit of time to get into the game, but once we did, you could see the quality in our team.”