44,000 people filled the stands in Brisbane as England opened their World Cup campaign with a tough test against Haiti. In what was expected by most spectators to be a whitewashing, the Lionesses' Georgia Stanway's penalty kick on the second attempt was enough to secure the three points in the group stage.
England was not clinical enough
The Lionesses had 21 shots throughout the game but only managed to grab their goal from a set piece. Through Manchester City's Lauren Hemp and Chloe Kelly as well as Arsenal's Alessia Russo, England had plenty of attacking outlets to pose a threat but were unable to provide the lethal cutting edge.
Having made the decision to omit Rachel Daly and Lauren James from the starting XI, it seems that competition within the frontline will be fierce and could be adjusted game by game depending on individual performances.
Sarina Wiegman will undoubtedly be trying to amend the problem in camp as they prepare for their next fixture against Denmark next Friday night. She stated in her post-match press conference, "We keep trying and working on it [scoring goals] and start again tomorrow.”
Don't sleep on Haiti
51 places separate Haiti and England in the FIFA Coca-Cola Women's World Rankings. However, the performance from the Caribbean side showed that all sides will step up on the world's biggest stage. Haiti was exciting to watch, energetic and ready to give England a stern test.
Despite not seeing much of the ball, they countered well and were unlucky to not grab a point from the game with a late chance at the end. If Haiti can see off China next Friday, they could be a surprise candidate to sneak into the knockout stages after impressing against the European champions.
Pretty victories aren't always the dream route to success
England's World Cup qualifier matches were often very high-scoring affairs, notably winning 10-0 against Latvia, Luxembourg and North Macedonia. Although many people predict the Lionesses to see off 'inferior' sides by large margins, it isn't always going to be the case. Wiegman's side is going to have to play out these games in a different manner, staying tight at the back and relying on their attack to perform just as well.
While successful sides are able to display their talent, they also have to be intelligent when to do so and when to be more conservative. Stanway's penalty was a subtle warning, showing that there are still weaknesses to improve on before the Lionesses are playing at full throttle.
Is England too reliant on Earps?
Despite having very little to do, Mary Earps' impact was yet again crucial in ensuring that England came out with the win. The Manchester United goalkeeper has been in her best form in the past few seasons and has been one of the top performers in the national team, but the Lionesses can't be too reliant on her to be the game-saver on multiple occasions.
Albeit the opening game to a major tournament, Haiti was able to exploit the defence to midfield transition quite easily, providing a threat on the counter when England looked uncomfortable.
Earps' save with 10 minutes to go was the standout highlight of the match; Nérilla Mondésir located substitute Roseline Eloissaint rushing into the box and her effort destined for the bottom corner was saved by the outstretched leg of the 30-year-old from Nottingham.
While no England player had a particularly poor performance, a lot could be learned from their first 90 minutes in New Zealand. With Denmark winning their game against China, Friday night's fixture will be a more difficult test in what looks to be a potential first vs second tie for the group stage.