Women's World Cup: Sarina Wiegman admits England 'struggled', targets improvements after Haiti victory

Sarina Wiegman admitted her England side "struggled" against Haiti in their Women’s World Cup opener.

The Lionesses laboured to a sluggish victory against the World Cup debutants, with goalkeeper Mary Earps forced into two fantastic saves to preserve a slender 1-0 lead provided by Georgia Stanway’s re-taken first-half penalty.

Wiegman praised an "unpredictable" Haiti side for their exploits on the night and highlighted the need to become more ruthless in front of goal.

“It was a very hard game, I’m very happy with the three points,” she told ITV Sport.

“Haiti were very unpredictable, very transitional. That’s what they showed and we struggled with that. We did create chances but we lost the ball and then they were gone. That was hard for us.

“We want to finish our chances. We did it with the penalty which was good because the win is the most important thing.”

After being pressed on the reasons behind England’s wastefulness, Wiegman explained it simply comes down to split-second decision making.

“We were very close, we were sometimes too close to the goalkeeper, who was courageous," she said.

“Sometimes we had the last pass instead of shooting ourselves. I hope that we can score a goal from open play in the next game.”

For Stanway, it was a huge source of relief to have a second go at the penalty after Kerly Theus saved her first attempt.

The VAR determined that the Haiti keeper had come off her line in the process, allowing the Bayern Munich midfielder to eventually convert the spot-kick.

Stanway also praised Earps for another fine display and highlighted the Manchester United keeper's influence as being crucial for England’s chances of success.

"I was just focused on the ball, focused on the situation and blocked out everything," Stanway said of her strike from 12 yards.

"The first one was a very good save, so credit for the save but she was off her line. There’s a process I go through and I just stuck to that.

"She’s [Earps] very good, a top keeper. Those are the moments that makes them become a top keeper. The most important thing is the three points, it’s a good start."

- - -

TNT Sports presents the premium live sports rights previously carried by BT Sport including the Premier League, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Conference League, Gallagher Premiership Rugby, Heineken Champions Cup, EPCR Challenge Cup, MotoGP, Cricket, UFC, Boxing and WWE. The streaming home for TNT Sports in the UK is discovery+, where fans can enjoy a subscription that includes TNT Sports, Eurosport and entertainment in one destination. You can also watch TNT Sports through BT, EE, Sky, and Virgin Media.