England primed to enter fray after USA win over Vietnam

Sarina Wiegman's European champions will be expected to beat World Cup debutants Haiti in Brisbane by much the same scoreline as the Americans and La Roja. However, England's build-up has been overshadowed by a row over bonuses for the Lionesses and their form has been patchy.

They are also missing three key players - captain Leah Williamson, Euro 2022 Golden Boot winner Beth Mead and Chelsea forward Fran Kirby, all ruled out before the tournament with injuries.

The USA win kicked off a bumper third day of the World Cup, with four matches. The 2011 champions Japan play Zambia, the lowest-ranked team in the competition, in Wellington at 07.00 GMT.

Then comes the game in Brisbane, before the action concludes for the day in Perth for China against Denmark at 12.00 GMT. Sweden, France and the Netherlands all feature on Sunday. Sweden will not be weighed down by a series of near-misses when they launch their latest World Cup bid, coach Peter Gerhardsson said.

The third-ranked Swedes face South Africa and Gerhardsson is adamant that history will not be a factor. Sweden will be expected to beat the African champions and go on to qualify from their group. That would continue an enviable run of consistency for the Scandinavian side, who have only once failed to advance to the knockout phase at all eight previous World Cups.

 

July 22, 2023