Women’s World Cup LIVE: Canada vs Republic of Ireland and today’s results

England women boss Sarina Wiegman felt her European champions lacked “ruthlessness” after they eked out a 1-0 victory over debutants Haiti to open their World Cup campaign at Brisbane Stadium.

Georgia Stanway’s retaken first-half penalty was ultimately enough to win her side all three points, but did little to ease concerns about the Lionesses’ attacking form after they failed to find the back of the net in their previous three encounters.

Were it not for a late second-half save from FIFA women’s goalkeeper of the year Mary Earps to deny substitute Roseline Eloissaint, the fourth-ranked Lionesses could well have ended their evening with a draw against their underdog Group D opponents, who sit 49 places below them in the FIFA rankings.

England have a precious first win in this World Cup but that very description is why they did not look like eventual winners of the tournament itself.

That isn’t to say it will remain like this, but Sarina Wiegman has a lot of problems to solve, and a lot of work to do. Haiti at least more than set the tone for the latter. In something that has already developed into a bit of a pattern in these first few games, the supposed minnow deserved more than the 1-0 defeat they suffered through Georgia Stanway’s mercifully reordered penalty.

Haiti’s brilliant young star, Melchie Dumornay, may well end up deserving a series of individual awards. She was by far the player of the match here, running the game. Haiti often gave England a runaround. The entire result ended up depending on Mary Earps standing her ground in a crucial final chance for Haiti.

The United States remain the team to beat ahead of the Women’s World Cup and the two-time defending champions remain number one in the Fifa rankings ahead of the tournament.

The USA are looking to become the first country to win three World Cups in a row and have held top spot since 2017.

But the tournament in Australia and New Zealand could bring a shake-up to the order. Europe is catching up and the likes of England, Germany, France and Spain will be coming for the USA’s crown.

Zambia come into the World Cup as the lowest-ranked team at the tournament, which is hosting 32 teams for the first time.

Megan Rapinoe, 38, burst onto the global stage at the 2011 World Cup in Germany when she scored a screamer against Colombia and celebrated by grabbing an on-field microphone placed near the corner flag and crooning Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the USA”. A star was born.

Since then, the iconic neon-haired winger has won gold at the London 2012 Olympics, bronze at the Tokyo 2020 games and both the 2015 and 2019 FIFA World Cups as an integral part of the US Women’s National Team (USWNT).

She was named player of the tournament at her last World Cup in France four years ago after scoring six – including a spotkick in the final against the Netherlands – and picked up both the Golden Boot and that year’s Ballon d’Or Feminin.

US Women’s National Team (USWNT) striker Alex Morgan, 34, is one of the biggest stars in women’s football, already an Olympic gold medallist and a two-time World Cup winner.

The American is heading into her fourth FIFA Women’s World Cup and ranks in the top 10 in USWNT history in goals, assists and multi-goal games.

Morgan first caught the eye a decade ago at the 2011 World Cup in Germany when she was the youngest player in the American squad but, undaunted by the international spotlight, scored in both the semi-final and final as the US finished runners-up to Japan.

Argentina forward Yamila Rodriguez has defended herself for having a tattoo of Cristiano Ronaldo inked on her left shin, saying that favouring the Portugal star is not a sign she does not appreciate their World Cup-winning talisman Lionel Messi.

The 25-year-old, who also has a tattoo of Argentina great Diego Maradona on her left thigh, said she had been receiving criticism on social media for the tattoo of Ronaldo, Messi’s great rival.

“Please stop, I’m not having a good time. At what point did I say that I’m anti-Messi?” she wrote on Instagram.

“I’m not having a bad time because of you (fans) but for the atrocities that are said, without mercy. Can’t you have an idol or a player you like?”

The US Women’s National Team (USWNT) kicked off their Women’s World Cup with a 3-0 win over Vietnam in Auckland, New Zealand, on Saturday 22 July. And one of the team’s forwards took the moment to remember an absent friend.

After striker Sophia Smith had slammed home her second goal of the game, she put her fingers to her lips and made a zipping motion across her mouth in honour of former Stanford Cardinal teammate Katie Meyer, whose iconic celebration it was.

Meyer had gone viral after making precisely that gesture when the college side secured the 2019 NCAA College Cup with a penalty shootout win in which she was instrumental but tragically died on 1 March 2022, aged just 22, after taking her own life.

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.

Canada fight back to break Irish hearts

Ireland bowed out of the tournament after Canada came from behind to win in Group B. Captain Katie McCabe gave Ireland the lead when she scored straight from a corner after just four minutes.

Megan Connolly’s own goal levelled just before half-time and Adriana Leon grabbed Canada’s winner eight minutes after the break.

Japan ease past Costa Rica

Japan also qualified for the last 16 with a routine win over Costa Rica. Quickfire first-half goals from Hikaru Naomoto and Aoba Fujino saw the 2011 champions through.

Japan and Spain will battle it out for top spot in their final Group C game when they face each other on Monday.