Lucy Bronze is the only player in the current England squad with more than 100 capsEngland v Denmark
Venue : Sydney Football Stadium Date : 28 July Kick-off : 09:30 BST
Coverage : Live on BBC One from 09:00 BST, BBC iPlayer, BBC Radio 5 Live, BBC Sounds and the BBC Sport website & app. Full coverage details; latest news
Lucy Bronze says England would be perfectly happy to keep winning matches 1-0 at the Women’s World Cup because results are more important than performances.
England face Denmark in their second group game on Friday at 09:30 BST.
“It’s not always about scoring seven goals,” said Bronze.
“You could go [through the entire] World Cup winning 1-0 all the time, or by drawing and then winning on penalties. Performances mean a lot to us but results are [more] important.
“The performances are there [from us] in games, from individuals and as a collective - it’s just being more ruthless and more clinical in front of goal.
“I don’t think people would talk as much about performances [versus] results then.”
England can book their place in the last 16 with a game to spare if they manage victory over Denmark and the other Group D match between China and Haiti (kick-off 12:00 BST) ends in a draw or a Haiti win.
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The Euro 2022 champions had 11 shots on target in their win over Haiti - their most on record at the World Cup - but needed a penalty from Georgia Stanway to break the deadlock and take three points.
Wiegman said England have been “working” to put away their chances and had a “really good” training session on Thursday.
“We talked about coming into the final third, having the connections right, making the crosses at the right time and being in front of the goal at the right time - things like that,” said Wiegman.
The England manager also suggested she is willing to make changes to the starting XI, despite naming the same team throughout the entire Euro 2022 campaign.
“I want to make changes. What we do is approach every game, see who is fit and available and then make decisions on what we need to start with,” she added.
‘We hope we can surprise’
Alex Greenwood started England’s opening match against Haiti at left-back
England defender Alex Greenwood said there were “no concerns” over the squad’s goalscoring ability despite failing to find the net in 337 minutes of open play.
“It’s not a concern for me. We have players all over the pitch who can score,” she said.
“You go through spells where you might not score but we’re creating chances which is the most important thing. We just have to put the ball in the back of the net.”
Denmark could also progress with a win after beating China 1-0 in their opening match.
Manager Lars Sondergaard, who has a fully fit squad, said it would be a “mortal sin” for them not to enjoy the challenge of facing England, who are nine places above them in the world rankings.
“There’s a World Cup every four years, you don’t get many of these opportunities,” he added.
“We know it will be difficult, England have a very good team, they are the European champions and we are the underdogs. We hope we can surprise.”
‘I’m very much aware of Pernille Harder’
Pernille Harder provided the assist for Amalie Vangsgaard’s 90th minute winner against China in Denmark’s opening game
The majority of Denmark’s squad have played in the English Women’s Super League, including former Chelsea striker Pernille Harder, who joined Bayern Munich this summer after winning three WSL titles.
“What she has achieved in the game is outstanding. I’m very much aware of her from playing against her at Chelsea and the problems she causes,” said Manchester City defender Greenwood.
“The runs into the box she makes and how tidy she is on the ball… for a player that’s quite slight, her hold-up play is brilliant. She scores a lot of goals - all types of goals - and has a great strike on her.
“She’s a top player and that’s why she’s won the amount of trophies she has. She’s classed as their main threat and rightly so.”
Harder could go up against former Chelsea team-mate Millie Bright at Sydney Football Stadium.
“I have [faced] Millie a few times in training! She is a great player,” said Harder. “She is tough and goes 110% into everything she does. It will be difficult but I will do everything I can to also make it difficult for her.
“It will be special to play against England. Maybe they had a bad start but we know they can come into the next game and be amazing.”
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Brown-Finnis’ prediction
Former England goalkeeper Rachel Brown-Finnis is predicting the outcome of all 64 games in Australia and New Zealand :
I am expecting England to get better and better as this World Cup goes on, so this performance should be much improved on their win against Haiti.
Even so, I am not anticipating the same kind of instant step-up we saw at last year’s Euros, when the Lionesses went from a narrow victory over Austria in their first group game to an 8-0 thrashing of Norway next time out.
England have come into this tournament in a totally different place in terms of momentum and confidence than they were before the Euros, and are also without some key personnel, so it is is going to take a bit longer for the team to gel.
But they do have plenty of experienced players at major finals, and lots of quality too - plus a real mastermind of a manager - so I still think they will get the job done.
They need a win to get out of the group, and that’s exactly what they will get.
Prediction : 1-0
- Brown-Finnis’ second round predictions
