The prolific striker has had bad luck with injuries but fully fit at this World Cup, she has the experience to take her country farEight years ago I was playing in the World Cup third-place playoff when we won a penalty in extra time and a Germany player was trying to unsettle the taker, Fara Williams. I felt it necessary to get in the way to protect my teammate by pushing my opponent – only to realise it was Alexandra Popp and that I might have made an error of judgment. The next minute, Eni Aluko had to join me to give us a chance of keeping Popp at arm’s length because it was the type of situation that needed...
The prolific striker has had bad luck with injuries but fully fit at this World Cup, she has the experience to take her country farEight years ago I was playing in the World Cup third-place playoff when we won a penalty in extra time and a Germany player was trying to unsettle the taker, Fara Williams. I felt it necessary to get in the way to protect my teammate by pushing my opponent – only to realise it was Alexandra Popp and that I might have made an error of judgment. The next minute, Eni Aluko had to join me to give us a chance of keeping Popp at arm’s length because it was the type of situation that needed...
After an unconvincing win against Haiti, Sarina Wiegman has a few problems to address before Friday’s match with DenmarkThere is a Fran Kirby-shaped hole in the No 10 position that Ella Toone is struggling to fill. To be fair to Toone, few could replace the ingenuity and guile of Kirby. Toone is a different style of player, a very, very good one with bags of potential, but more box-to-box. Against Haiti, Toone had most success shifted to the left and struggled to make things happen down the middle. If Sarina Wiegman is not going to change the shape to make the midfield work most effectively with the sum of its parts, then Lauren James is the more natural successor to...
Opening matches at World Cups are often a practice in figuring out what works. The USWNT’s 3-0 win over Vietnam to launch their three-peat bid suggests they’re not yet an entirely finished productSophia Smith admitted that she was nervous – and she is never nervous. Savannah DeMelo? She had some nerves, too, after finding out less than 24 hours earlier that her first international start would take place in the United States’ opening match of the 2023 World Cup.“I mean, it’s a World Cup,” Smith said of the nerves. “I feel like that just shows how much it means.” Continue reading...
Haiti give the Lionesses a scare in their World Cup opener and progress is required before the sterner test of DenmarkAfter months of buildup, England took to the World Cup stage in Brisbane with a frail defensive display that posed more questions than it provided answers. For a side whose success last summer depended so heavily on their ability in defence, they were made to look fragile, and at times chaotic, by a fast and tenacious Haiti side who took the game to the European champions.The Lionesses’ backline was always going to be a focal point when Millie Bright was declared fit by Sarina Wiegman a little over 24 hours before kick-off. The England captain played her first 90 minutes...