LAST UPDATE | 28 Jul 2023
EUROPEAN CHAMPIONS ENGLAND moved one step closer to the World Cup last 16 after a Lauren James cracker in the sixth minute gave them a 1-0 win over Denmark.
But an otherwise hugely satisfactory night for England in front of just over 40,000 fans in Sydney was marred by what looked like a serious knee injury to influential midfielder Keira Walsh.
England moved to the top of Group D on six points, but their place in the last 16 is still not assured.
China’s 1-0 win over Haiti later on Friday means that all is still to play for heading into the last round of matches on Tuesday, when England play China and Haiti face Denmark.
Denmark might have stolen a point with three minutes left in normal time when, despite having as little as 20 percent of the possession for much of the game, Amalie Vangsgaard shaved the outside of the England post with a header.
Wiegman made two changes from the team that squeezed past Haiti 1-0 in their opener, Rachel Daly and James coming into the starting XI.
And it was the 21-year-old Chelsea forward James who was the star of the first half, before fading in the second.
She needed just six minutes to justify her inclusion, drifting off the left into the middle, skipping past a weak challenge and bending the ball with her right foot into the bottom corner from outside the box.
A night that had been going so well for the Lionesses then suffered a significant setback when Walsh, a key cog in the team that won the Euros last year, tumbled over and appeared to badly hurt her knee.
She was stretchered off in tears and replaced by Laura Coombs seven minutes before half-time, a question mark now hanging over the rest of the Barcelona player’s World Cup.
England were already missing captain Leah Williamson and Euro 2022 Golden Boot winner Beth Mead, both ruled out before the tournament with knee injuries.
The second half was more of the same: England with most of the chances and possession, but Denmark looking to hit on the break.
That is what they did when Vangsgaard darted into the six-yard box, her header centimetres from snatching a point.
Haiti pay the penalty
Later on Friday, substitute Wang Shuang scored a 74th-minute penalty as China survived for more than an hour with 10 players to beat debutants Haiti 1-0 Friday and keep their Women’s World Cup dreams alive.
Needing to avoid defeat in Adelaide, China were the dominant team in damp conditions until Zhang Rui was sent off in the 29th minute for a clumsy tackle on Sherly Jeudy.
The Asian champions weathered an onslaught early in the second-half from Haiti before Zhang Linyan was brought down in the box by Ruthny Mathurin against the run of play.
After a lengthy VAR review, Wang made no mistake with her penalty kick and China gamely held on in a wild contest involving several calls for penalties.
Haiti were awarded a penalty in second-half stoppage time after Roseline Eloissaint had been seemingly grappled with by Chen Qiaozhu, but the referee rescinded it after a VAR check
