Day 3: No response

Play Morgan? Drop Russo? The key questions after three days of the tournament

England 1 - Haiti 0

First group game done and England are in full on ‘trust the process’ mode right now. Their 1-0 over Haiti, supposedly the easiest game of their group, was at points painful to watch, as a disjointed England team struggled to deal with the physicality and intensity of their Haitian counterparts. It was a match interrupted in the first half by long-lasting and unclear VAR checks, leaving both sides unable to get into their rhythm, but England would have wanted to come away from this with a comprehensive win. Instead there were only more question marks.

Lauren James is a key one. The Chelsea forward had looked almost certain to start given her performances and Wiegman’s seeming preference for her but was left on the bench in favour of Chloe Kelly and Ella Toone. When she finally did come on after 61 minutes, it served to only show how strange it was that England had played without her for an hour. Calm on the ball, physically robust enough to deal with the Haitian’s aggressiveness, and with her own bit of magic, James suddenly elevated England’s attack in the last half hour.

But the player it was truly impossible to ignore was Melchie Dumornay. The 19 year old is joining Lyon this summer and had probably the stand out individual performance of the tournament so far. Whether it was shadow covering Keira Walsh or steamrolling through Lucy Bronze, she showed she had it all. The carries, the passing, the defensive capabilities. Dumornay is going to be a superstar.

As for England, well, we’ll see. The chances and the xG are all there but clearly, the goals are not. Wiegman will need that tide to turn sooner rather than later.

Zambia 0 - Japan 5

If Dumornay was the stand out individual performance of the tournament so far, this was the stand out team one. Japan have, in recent years, developed a reputation for being quite stodgy. But it was quite the opposite here as the Nadeshiko used their five-player defence to exploit the huge amounts of width left by Zambia.

It could have been more as well, with two goals being disallowed for offside before a penalty was overturned as a result of an offside decision. Yet regardless  Jun Endo and Risa Shimizu, continued to plug away at the wide open spaces led by the Zambians until eventually the goals started going in fast.

On paper, getting the ball out wide and playing inch perfect passes should not be that difficult. But in football, the relationships that become the baulk of the way you play are not always easy to come by. That is why Mina Tanaka was so crucial to this Japan win. Tanaka was constantly making runs into the box, and causing defenders to get anxious even if she was offside. Her wingbacks were always able to find her, and she was constantly looking to get on the ball.

It has been a long-time since they last won the World Cup, but maybe there is enough enthusiasm there for a small surprise to be called.

Spain 3 - Costa Rica 0

With Spain 3-0 up after 27 minutes, this match against Costa Rica looked like it could get pretty messy but Spain failed to add any more to their total despite having a spectacular 46 shots. 

Part of the reason Spain were able to be so dominant was their incredibly aggressive set up which at times resembled a front 6. One of Ivana Andres or Irene Paredes would drop back as a sole defender whilst everyone else pushed up the pitch. Neither of the fullbacks - Olga Carmona or Ona Batlle had a single touch in their defensive penalty area - and their presence further up the pitch allowed Spain to keep their width whilst Salma Paralluelo and Athenea Del Castillo provided penalty box presence.

Spain also used vertical channels to create dangerous attacking situations, particularly on the right where Aitana Bonmati would come across to combine with Ona and Athenea. Each of the three would take up a different line depending on how the ball was received.

The sheer number of Spanish players in a small area of the pitch made their interplay look rapid but you could see the space available for Costa Rica when they turned the ball over. The two key players Spain are missing at this tournament are Mapi Leon and Patri Guijarro, who not only offer defensive protection but also excel at mid to long range distribution meaning their teams are able to position themselves covering more space. Spain could get away with this against Costa Rica but it will certainly make their match against Zambia - potentially one of the best counter-attacking sides at the tournament - intriguing.

US 3 - Vietnam 0

A pretty routine opener for the US in the end who found Vietnam at points a robust opponent but not a threatening one. Vietnam did not have a single shot and as soon as Sophia Smith opened the scoring after 14 minutes, it felt inevitable the US would win.

Smith was the stand-out player for the US who looked quite disjointed for large portions of the match. With two goals and an assist, it was a perfect World Cup debut for a justifiably hyped youngster. The question moving forward will be whether Smith should actually start centrally in place of Alex Morgan, with Lynn Williams, Alyssa Thompson or Megan Rapinoe all options for positions on the wing.

Morgan’s poor penalty miss was her stand-out moment in the match but her flick to set up Smith for the opener was delightful. She had a number of moments where she controlled the ball well in the area and certainly is not the kind of central striker who is going to get in the way of Smith making those direct runs into the area.

In fact, the ability to start with Morgan and then move Smith centrally to bring fresh legs onto the wings could be a key way for the US to maximise their squad. 

It was also clear how key Rose Lavelle’s fitness will be for the US. Introduced in the 61st minute, it was noticeable how much creativity she brought, linking up the US’ midfield and attack much more seamlessly than anything that had been seen in the previous hour. Her pass map demonstrates the wide variety of positions she was able to take up. Whether she is fit enough to start against The Netherlands could make a big difference in the outcome of that match.

Denmark 1 - China 0

The less said about this one the better. If you chose not to sit through it, congratulations to you. If you sat in a bar, nursing a pint after the England game, to watch it - more fool you!

Both teams are fairly organised without being interesting. Denmark were marginally better but still seem less capable of getting the most out of Pernille Harder than Emma Hayes when she first arrived at Chelsea. And in the end a long-range header that saw the goalkeeper flap at some Danish players who looked offside but weren’t settled the three points. 

If England vs Haiti was anything to go by, these are the two worst teams in the group.