China vs Haiti: Another opportunity for debutants to get off the mark
Haiti will have another chance to pick up a crucial victory when they face China on matchday two of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup on Friday. The Caribbean nation, who are one of eight debutants at this summer’s event, were beaten by England in their tournament opener and now will need to win this game to keep their World Cup dreams afloat. Meanwhile, China will be desperate to turn things around after conceding a late goal to lose their first group stage game to Denmark.
An excellent display by Haiti, but an unfortunate result
Nicolas Delepine’s team put up a brave fight to keep England at bay, and in fact, were only undone by a penalty kick. Unfortunately for Haiti’s shot-stopper Kerly Theus, her first stop on Georgia Stanway’s spot-kick was nullified after a review revealed she had illegally encroached. As such, Stanway was allowed to re-take it, and more often than not, most players do convert at the second time asking. Les Grenadières did make some attempts to find an equalizer, but regrettably, nothing came to fruition, and now, they will have to improve in order to keep themselves in the running for a potential round of 16 spot.
The loss to England also comes at a high price, with key defender Jennyfer Limage now ruled out for the rest of the competition after sustaining an ACL injury. This means she will likely be replaced by Ruthny Mathurin, who will partner with Tabita Joseph in the heart of defense. 19-year-old midfielder Melchie Dumornay, who plays her club football for Reims, was one of the standout performers for her team despite their loss. She, alongside the likes of experienced striker Roselord Borgella, who features for Dijon at club level, will be absolutely key for Haiti if they want to dispatch China and remain in the hunt for a knockout round spot.
Haiti’s loss to England means that they have lost five on the spin heading into Friday’s contest, but they will take hope in the fact that China didn’t exactly impress against Denmark on matchday one.
China in danger of early exit?
The Steel Roses failed to make any of their nine attempts on goal count as they were ultimately beaten in the 90th minute thanks to a solid header from Amalie Vangsgaard. As such, their hopes of clinching at least a point went up in smoke and they now face the daunting prospect of an early exit if they fail to beat Haiti on Friday. To date, China have qualified for at least the round of 16 in all six of their past World Cup competitions, but overall have not fared well in World Cups, with just one win from their last six games.
In addition, considering the spirited performance Haiti put on against England, which left the Lionesses scrambling to regroup, China certainly will come into this contest well aware that they would be quite foolish to underestimate the debutants. Unlike Haiti, China don’t have any injury worries ahead of this game, so can field their preferred starting XI. That being said, it remains to be seen whether that will be enough to contain a Haiti side who really put on a good showing on matchday one and likely are growing in confidence as they prepare to take to the pitch on Friday.
