FIFA Women's World Cup preview - Group D
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TSN.ca's lookahead to the FIFA 2023 Women's World Cup continues with a preview of Group D that features powerhouse England, a fearless Haiti side, a China team looking for consistency and Denmark led by Pernille Harder.
Ella Toone England ENGLAND
Confederation: UEFA
FIFA ranking: No. 4
Manager: Sarina Wiegman
Captain (interim): Millie Bright (Chelsea)
Previous World Cup appearances: Five
Major honours: Euro (2022)
Is this the team that could win it all in August? If Sarina Wiegman had a full complement at her disposal, then the answer would undoubtedly be yes, but she does not. After winning major honours last summer in claiming the Euro after a dominant run through the field that included a 4-0 shellacking of Sweden in the semis, England is set to embark on a World Cup as one of the most injury-ravaged sides in the tournament. Captain Leah Williamson (Arsenal) misses out with a knee injury. Forward Beth Mead (Arsenal), the Golden Boot winner at Euro 2022, is still recuperating from an ACL tear and she is unavailable. It is also a knee injury that will keep attacker Fran Kirby (Chelsea) from getting on the plane. Acting captain Millie Bright (Chelsea) and defender Lucy Bronze (Barcelona) were also doubts with knee injuries, but both have been named to the squad and will be looked to steady the ship at the back in the absence of the rock-solid Williamson. The silver lining to all of this is that for everything that has gone wrong for the Lionesses, there’s still a lot that can go right. England still possesses one of the deepest squads in Australia and New Zealand, filled with quality at every position. Rachel Daly (Aston Villa) was a left-back at the Euro last summer. This season, she was converted to a forward and immediately turned into a lethal goal threat, scoring 30 goals in 30 matches across all competitions, including 22 in the Women’s Super League to claim the Golden Boot. Joining Daly up front is a strong group including Alessia Russo (Arsenal), Chloe Kelly (Manchester City) and Lauren James (Chelsea). The midfield will be anchored by the likes of Ella Toone (Manchester United) and Georgia Stanway (Bayern Munich), while veteran Jordan Nobbs (Aston Villa) returns to the Lionesses setup after missing out on both World Cup 2019 and the Euro with injury. Somewhat surprisingly, there was no place for 21-year-old defender Maya Le Tissier after a breakout season with United. The Lionesses should comfortably emerge from this group and are capable of greatness, even with the quality of those not available.
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Wang Shuang China CHINA
Confederation: AFC
FIFA ranking: No. 14
Manager: Shui Qingxia
Captain: Wang Shanshan (Tianjin Shengde)
Previous World Cup appearances: Seven
Major honours: AFC Women’s Asian Cup (1986, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2006 and 2022)
Historically, the Steel Roses have been one of the more consistent sides at the Women’s World Cup and reasserted their credentials on a big stage at last year’s Asian Cup, but there are worrying signs heading into Australia and New Zealand. Finalists in 1999, China has failed to qualify for the World Cup only once – at Germany in 2011 – and has made it out of the group stage at all seven of their appearances. At France 2019, China advanced to the knockouts by virtue of being one of the best third-place teams, finishing behind Germany and Spain in Group B with their only victory coming against last-place South Africa. Their World Cup ended in the Round of 16 with a 2-0 loss to Italy. That disappointment was lessened last year when the Steel Roses defeated South Korea in a hard-fought 3-2 final to capture the Asian Cup for the ninth time and first time in a decade and a half. Veteran forwards Wang Shanshan (Tianjin Shengde) and Wang Shuang (Racing Louisville) were a two-woman wrecking crew at the tournament, scoring 10 goals between them. Shanshan says the win is big for the program, but that was 2022. “It was our first major championship in so many years,” Shanshan said. “It is also recognition for us as players and for the efforts of the Chinese women’s football team over the years. But it’s also a thing of the past. Now there are new challenges waiting for us, and we have a long way to go.” She is not lying because it seems the goals have dried up. China will enter the tournament winless in its last six matches, having scored just twice in the two losses and four draws. The offence drying up at the worst time will be something the Steel Roses need to correct in a hurry or their streak of reaching the knockouts at every World Cup they’ve been in is at risk of ending in what should be a competitive Group D.
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Melchie Dumornay Haiti HAITI
Confederation: CONCACAF
FIFA ranking: No. 53
Manager: Nicolas Delepine
Captain: Nerilia Mondesir (Montpellier)
Previous World Cup appearances: None
Major honours: N/A
It’s cliché to say that simply qualifying for the World Cup is a victory in its own right, but Haiti will be realistic about their maiden voyage to the quadrennial competition. Haiti is by far the lowest-ranked team in Group D at No. 53 in the world and will be a heavy underdog in all three of their group-stage matches. Still, the steel this team showed in qualifying should be enough to give the likes of England, China and Denmark pause in approaching their matchups, along with the realization that Haiti is playing to bring joy to a country reeling from a number of crises over the past few years. “We want that for the country as a whole, to have a breath of fresh air and kind of step aside from anything going on,” Grenadieres and Fordham (NCAA) midfielder Danielle Etienne said. Haiti qualified through the intercontinental playoffs last February in New Zealand with two wins – a 4-0 thrashing of Senegal before a narrow 2-1 victory over Chile in a cagey affair with a scoreline that belies the kind of match it actually was. Both Haiti goals were scored by teen sensation Melchie Dumornay. Her first goal came just before the half with an absolute rocket that veteran Chile and Lyon goalkeeper Christiane Endler could do nothing about. With the game in its dying minutes, Endler stood tall by stopping a penalty by captain Nerilia Mondesir. But she couldn’t stop Dumornay’s second well into stoppage after she was set up by Mondesir in a moment of vindication for the penalty miss. Chile would grab a consolation goal in the closing minutes of stoppage, but that’s as close as they would come. Endler will get to know Dumornay a whole lot better with the 19-year-old midfielder set to join her at OL next season. With a player of the quality of Dumornay and the sense that anything is possible amongst the squad, the other three teams in Group D should approach the Grenadieres with respect and look beyond them at their own peril.
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Pernille Harder Denmark DENMARK
Confederation: UEFA
FIFA ranking: No. 13
Manager: Lars Sondergaard
Captain: Pernille Harder (Bayern Munich)
Previous World Cup appearances: Four
Major honours: N/A
In a football-mad nation like Denmark, 16 years is an eternity. That’s how long it’s been since Denmark has competed at the Women’s World Cup, missing out on the last three tournaments. Their return to the most prestigious competition in women’s football comes in what will be one of the more interesting groups in Australia and New Zealand and Lars Sondergaard’s side will hope things go better than they did in last summer’s Euro in England where their single win in group-stage play had them fail to reach the knockouts. The Danes will be buoyed by the return to fitness of Pernille Harder. Their star midfielder was sidelined for several months after incurring a hamstring injury on international duty last fall before making her return late into Chelsea’s season. After four seasons with the Blues, Harder is headed back to Germany, having signed with Bayern Munich on a free transfer. The Danish team around Harder will see an influx of young talent with the likes of 19-year-old midfielder Kathrine Kuhl (Arsenal), 23-year-old forward Millie Gejl (North Carolina Courage) and 22-year-old forward Olivia Holdt (Rosengaard) all poised to play roles. While veteran midfielder Sanne Troelsgaard (Reading), Denmark’s second most-capped player, will be on the plane to Oceania, one of her longstanding teammates won’t be and another is a big doubt. Capped 73 times and a scorer of 23 international goals, Stine Larsen (BK Hacken) is unavailable as yet another high-profile player who has incurred an ACL injury. Injured in the spring, it was the second ACL tear in her right knee for Larsen in five years. One of only a handful of Danish players to hit the 100-cap mark, Nadia Nadim (Racing Louisville) is in a fight to be ready for the tournament. The 35-year-old former Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain forward, who has 38 international goals, is coming off an ACL tear last fall. A path out of the group is certainly there for Denmark, but the work won’t be easy and history isn’t on their side. In their four previous appearances in the World Cup, the Danes have won a combined three games.