The Guardian's Women's Football Weekly - The Lionesses struggle to find their roar despite win – Women’s Football Weekly

Episode Date: July 22, 2023

Faye Carruthers is joined by Suzy Wrack, Ceylon Andi Hickman, Claire Rafferty, and Jeff Kassouf to discuss England and USA’s opening games of the Women’s World Cup

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starting at $19 per month at zensurance.com. Be protected. Be Zen. This is The Guardian. Hello, I'm Faye Carruthers and welcome to The Guardian Women's Football Weekly. Well, that was slightly underwhelming, wasn't it? But England did get the win. Their opening World Cup match against Haiti ended 1-0 thanks to a Georgia Stanway retaken penalty.

Mary Earps take a bow, although it was the referee who ultimately stole the show. The Lionesses do top Group D, though, along with Denmark, who bagged a late win against China. The world champions, USA, meanwhile, kicked off their campaign in style as did Japan. We'll round up all the games on day three of the tournament plus take your questions and that's today's Guardian Women's Football Weekly.

Women's Football Weekly is supported by Google Pixel, the only phone engineered by Google and proud partner of the England teams. Search Google Store to find out more. Right, now this is going to be fun because we've got a bit of a dynamic duo situation going on. I'll introduce them in a second. Let's first of all say hello to former Lioness and World Cup bronze medalist from back in 2015, Claire Rafferty. How are you doing?

Hi, Faye. Very well, thank you. How are you? Very good, thank you. but working together in tandem in Australia with one mic between them it's Salon Andy Hickman and the Guardian's very own Susie Rack hello hey hey who says hi first that's the uh that's the question we're gonna take it in turns I love the fact that you're joined almost like Siamese twins with your headphones so if one of you pulls in one direction or gets animated, as I know that Salon does, then you're in a little bit of trouble. But I love the fact that you've both got, I mean, I asked if it was chamomile tea.

It's kind of what, strawberry, fruity. You've got your key to calm down from what was a crazy match. Raspberry, loganberry. Yeah, loads of fruit in there to wind us down for bedtime Yeah, fresh from the Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane

that's where we're going to start England and their win in Group D over Haiti it wasn't a vintage England performance but three points for three points didn't really make it particularly easy for themselves though did they Susie? Did they underestimate Haiti or did they just not click themselves I don't know I mean I said in my match

report that there were a lot of questions around England going into the game and we didn't really get many answers to any of those questions in this game is it sort of first game nerves is it just not being very good? Is it a little bit of both? I mean, it felt slightly reminiscent of the game against Austria, the first game of the Euros, which was a bit scrappy and a bit disjointed. But there was a bit of a difference in, you know, obviously, I think Haiti played very, very well, but Austria are a much better team than Haiti. So it should have been more straightforward, really, shouldn't it?

And I worry about a lot of the questions still being unanswered around the number 10 role, who starts up top, the defence. You know, all of those still are problems that haven't been fixed yet. Yeah, there are quite a few problems, I would say. But let's go positive, first of all. What was the actual atmosphere like, Solon? It was at points quite flat, I think, which reflected, I think, what was going on in the pitch.

There weren't loads of clear-cut chances for people to get excited about. And I think you could feel that. It definitely felt like there was an England bias in the stadium. It felt like there was a lot of England fans. clear cut chances for people to get excited about and I think you could feel that it definitely felt like there was an England bias in the in the stadium it felt like there was a lot of England fans the build-ups the game was really fun there was loads yeah you could have been like in and around Wembley I think when you're walking to the ground but there was also a big current for sort of the underdog um every time that Haiti were on the break which made it more exciting I think a sort of an atmosphere and a dynamic.

But yeah, I don't think the ground were treated to the most fascinating and brilliant performance I've ever seen. And I think we've sort of mirrored and matched that energy, but hope that it kind of builds because it did really feel like there's a lot of England fans in Australia, whether they're Australian or English. Yeah, which was really nice to be around. Helen wants to know on Twitter,

it's hard to see where England goals may come from currently a year ago they were scoring for fun what's changed Beth needs knee configuration probably not having an ACL um no in all seriousness a transition of of a forward line it's not only that um we don't have Beth Mead in the squad and Ellen White has retired, but also what that means in terms of Chloe Kelly and the role that she played in the Euros and when she came on and the dynamic of the game already that was set up for her to come into.

And now it's kind of on her shoulders and on Russo's shoulders to be those players to set the tone and get us going. And I think they could always rely on those players that were the tone and get us going and I think you know they could always rely on those players that were natural some of the best goal scorers in the world setting the tone for them to then come and slot into. Yeah I also think that the Euros there was a real unpredictability to where the goals were going to come from were they going to come through the middle were they going to come from the wings there was like England really mixed it up and without Leo Williamson playing out

from the back without Frank Kirby in the middle you've lost the sort of high quality play through through the centre and we're very reliant on the wings and that's a lot more predictable which I think is a bit of a problem and finding that trying to get back some of that unpredictability of where the goals are going to come from and where the opportunity is going to come from is going to be really important. Yeah, and the build-up to this raffle, the talk was about the fact England hadn't scored in their last three games

and they still haven't scored from open play. Serena Wiegmann said after the game that they need to finish their chances. She obviously didn't mention any names. She's not that type of coach, but people are going to assume the responsibility falls on the shoulders of Alessia Russo is she the right type of striker was she the right player to start this game or does Rachel Daly stake a good claim to start the next one? You know I think Rachel Daly now has you know a claim to that starting position based on the way

that we played and based on the way we all predicted England to play with the crosses into the box, Rachel Daly is better in the air for me than Alessia Russo. However, yeah, I still think there are questions that we were asked at the beginning of the game that we still need answering and want answering. And I think the way that we played was predictable. And I think that was crying out for Rachel Daly. And I think if we're going to maintain that way of play, then she needs to start.

I'm going to try and go chronologically, but actually Susie, you've got something to add on that. Yeah, I was just going to say, like for me, looking at the strengths of Russo, Daly and Beth England, I don't see Rachel Daly as a particularly good impact sub, but Russo showed that she can really be that last year probably you know she was almost too effective in that you know we now really much think of her as a super sub for England but I've not seen her put in a good 90

minutes for England and I don't think Rachel Daly has ever been effective off the bench so if you're talking about playing to the strengths of individual players let alone just who is informed generally I feel like you've got to start Rachel Daly that she needs the momentum of the game behind her to be most effective whereas Russo and Toon were so so impactful coming off the bench that you're sort of you're losing that sort of impact of sort of game-changing players by switching up a little bit which is a bit of a mistake in my book I think as well there's there's a relentlessness about Rachel Daly which that game needed she plays so well in quite scrappy environments she will get that ball down and she will make something of it in really difficult situations and I think England played into really tight spaces a lot of that that

time which relies on a striker being able to take a ball down quite quickly, either hold it up or look for that pass or turn a player or just make something out of nothing. And Rachel Daly for me is that kind of player. And actually, if she'd have been on going with the momentum of the game, as you said, Susie, I think we would have maybe had a few more clear-cut chances. It felt as if a lot of the chances that we did create, I'm talking about Hayes' goalkeeper, but I do think a lot of the chances were straight at her like and we didn't really test her and I think if you're if you need a bit of relentlessness and bite from the beginning I think Rachel Daly provides that. However she is versatile as we know and she played at left back during the Euros so you could start

her at left back and then move her up top and and from a former fullback's point of view Raph what did you make of of that back line and the decisions made because when the team sheet first then move her up top. And from a former fullback's point of view, Raph, what did you make of that back line and the decisions made? Because when the team sheet first came out and we all saw Jess Carter and Alex Greenwood, we assumed, wrongly, that Alex Greenwood would be playing centre-back and Jess Carter would be playing left-back, and that was not the case. How did it work for you?

How could it have gone better? Look, I think the whole game, I was watching that back line thinking, oh, you know, these are the four that need to be starting the play. They need to be driving with intensity. And I just felt like it just looked disjointed from the beginning. I feel like the players were getting dragged out of position, miscommunications, fucations. There was Brighton and Lucy Bronze going for the same balls that were allowing Haiti to counter on us. But I think in terms of Jess Carter and Bright, that's what I called for the game. And that's what I wanted to see given their relationship at Chelsea. However, in hindsight, I think that can't be the same going forward. I'd like to see

Greenwood now in the middle, Daly maybe at the left back if she's not going to start in the number nine position and potentially looking at using Carter off the bench. Yeah, that would be my preference personally. I said we were going to go through chronologically. I'm going to try and do that, but I know what we're like. We're all over the place

and we'll jump left, right and centre, I'm sure. But let's talk about the penalty shout in the first half. What we thought was a challenge on Chloe Kelly by Pierre-Louis. However, actually, Alessia Russo had fouled a player in the build-up, so a free kick was awarded to Haiti instead. Pierre-Louis was then still booked for the challenge, which, by the way, had that Alessia Russo foul not happened, should potentially have been a red.

But should it have been a penalty? And should, after being called called back Pierre-Louise have been booked for the challenge made after the foul and by the way Alessia Russo was also booked as well I felt like the referee was a bit there was a lot going on Susie. I thought the the Russo challenge was a little bit soft but I've been well and truly taken down a peg or two in that opinion on Twitter like a lot of fans not very happy with my opinion on that, saying it was a clear cut foul. So maybe what do I know?

I mean, it's not the best view from the press box. It was a foul to be fair. It was, but it wasn't, it wasn't a yellow card. Definitely not a yellow card. She was falling. And like, I think there's, you know, a little bit of leeway there. For me, the tackle on Chloe Kelly was was really really dangerous could have been a leg breaker really like brutal studs right down you saw her the

massive gas she had on her leg afterwards I don't necessarily think that player should have been on the pitch I know it's complicated by the fact that you know if you're pulling it back you can't necessarily give the cards uh that you need to stuff. But there's something not quite right about that rule, right? Like it's a reckless challenge. She's got a, you know, kind of almost like 20 inch gash down her leg. I wasn't that impressed. You know, I feel like that's not something that should be allowed to happen. And then the player be allowed to stay on the pitch.

Yeah. Soon after England did get their penalty though but Chiba Louis reaching up and touching the ball after a cross came in it was the most bizarre piece of defending I think I've ever seen Salon and a clear-cut penalty. Yeah definitely and I think a big sigh of relief amongst the whole ground of England fans at that point and everyone watching at home I imagine because yeah it didn't feel like we were going to score in any other way and then you'd had a penalty denied in a tournament where penalties have been sort of handed out willy-nilly at this point and then getting that penalty was a real saving for England at that point I thought when Georgia took the first one I, ooh, taking it straight away again is always a bit of a gamble, I think, because, you know, do you go in the same spot?

Do you mix it up? Do you go somewhere else? How does it get in your head? All that sort of stuff. So fair play to her for taking the second one and burying it because, yeah, I couldn't really see us scoring in any other way. But I think that was a real moment of relief for all of us and them, I think, on the pitch. And I actually thought that would be the moment where, yeah, we score one and then the floodgates open and they relax a bit and you see

the kind of football that we all wanted to see or saw last summer. But it feels, yeah, at this point we're definitely not there yet. And there's a lot of things we still need to work out, I think, over the next couple of days, I guess. Georgia Stanway did stand up to take the penalty. And in Georgia, we trust normally when it comes from the penalty spot. She'd scored seven from seven previously, but this attempt wasn't great. It forced a brilliant save from Curly Tejas in the Haiti goal,

but it had to be retaken because the keeper had encroached off her line. I mean, kudos to Stanway for stepping up again and finishing it this time. Similar thing happened in the Zambia-Japan game, by the way, which we'll discuss later. But anyone think it was harsh for the penalty to be retaken? Or, you know, it was clear encroachment in my opinion, Raph? Yeah, clear encroachment. I think if we're going the way the other games have gone and the stringent, you know, refereeing that we've seen and the eyes that have been forced and focused on some of these decisions that are being made, I think, yeah, definitely great opportunity to retake the penalty. Lifeline for Georgia Stamway, who, as you mentioned, was quite a straightforward save. Yeah, I mean, I agree completely, like clear as day

and very, very different to four years ago where it was a new rule and loads of keepers were falling foul of it having never sort of really practiced it and not being that aware of it. You know, they all know it now. We're four years in. They should all be well aware of that.

So there can't be really any disputing of it at all, can there now? And if they weren't aware of it, the voice of God on the tunnel made her aware of it very quickly afterwards. What was that like in the stadium? It's like someone's breaking the fourth wall. I don't want to hear a referee speak in a game.

They are voiceless. They are personless. I do not need to know who they are and what they sound like. I love them having personality. You like it? Yeah, I love it. From at home, I do. You are a vapid object for me to project my feelings onto at different points in the game. And then suddenly she spoke.

I was like, no, no, no, no. This is not what I signed up for. You see, I prefer it because I can't stand being in the crowd and not knowing what's going on and just having to look at the screen. And actually, you end up, if you're lucky enough to get signal in in a stadium you end up finding out on your phone as opposed to actually being in stadia and I can't stand that so I quite like it but I know what you mean it did feel very much as if she was you know it was a one woman show in that first half for quite a long time um let's talk about Lauren James coming off the bench in the second half. She looked really lively down that left-hand side.

How impactful as a substitute could she potentially be for Serena Wiegmann during this tournament, Susie? Huge, but I would start her first off. I think Ella Toon got really lost in this game and I think she really struggles in the number 10 role she's not really a number 10 she's a bit more box to box there's a big Frank Kirby shaped hole in this in this side compared to the Euros and Lauren James is the most capable of filling that creative gap being that link between the midfield and the forward line and finding the pass that that no

one else sees when things are really really tough and teams are really sort of being quite tight in the middle and I know she's you know obviously inexperienced and still quite young and we've not necessarily seen her do a sort of full 90 minutes of you know top top quality but I feel like that is the role that she's best suited to it's the role she looks most comfortable in it's the role she played a bit against Portugal and was really really impactful like I feel like she needs to be starting in there ahead of El Atun at the moment based on on form you then get El Atun and Russo coming off the bench if you're putting Daly up top as well and having the same impact with that pre-existing relationship they have

in the same way you did at the Euros. So you're sort of like changing things a bit. But I mean, she's still impactful off the bench. She's still impactful on the wing. But I feel like creatively we need someone like her central. And do you know what, though? There was a really early moment in the game where there was lovely link-up play

between Ella Toon and Lucy Bronze down the right-hand side with two back heels from Ella Toon to Lucy Bronze. It was gorgeous to watch, but then we didn't see any more of that. And she was largely quiet for the majority of the game. So, you know, I think with that, though, you know, we're obviously a little bit of England bias in our heads, but we really have to focus on how good Haiti were defensively

and going forward as well, because I think, you know, we didn't really know. Serena Wiegman used the word unpredictable leading into this about what this Haitian side would be like. And they're ranked 53 in the world, but they are pretty unpredictable to know. Apart from, you know, the girls that play for Lyon. Melky Demani, I thought, was fantastic. And I kind of, I think we have to focus on how good they were.

Maybe with some better finishing, though, they could have got a goal or two, particularly that chance in the 81st minute, which forced that fantastic save from Mary Earps, Raph. Yeah, you mentioned the defensive line for Haiti there. I think Limard, when she came off, I was a little bit worried at centre-back. She looked like she was in quite a lot of pain and I thought that might open the game up a little bit. But actually, the player came in and filled a position

and I think they were very astute in the way that they actually reduced England's ability to play through Kira Walsh. And I think that was one of the issues for England. And when Lauren James did come on, she allowed a little bit more link-up play and opened up the ability for us to switch the play out wide and change

the direction of attack. But in terms of the forward play from Haiti, I think they were so defiant in the way that they played. The counter-press and the turnover play, they were always first to those second balls. And yeah, I think overall, I've really, really impressed with them. And as you mentioned, Mary Earp's keeping us in the game there, but some real quality within that side. Are you watching Nike? It's been a big furore after your chat with Mary Earps and your article Susie I know she sat down with a number of the press but we talked about it in in yesterday's pod and you know when you see a performance like that from her having been quiet throughout the game, really, because it was, you know, she wasn't forced into making any saves previous to that to still be that focused and make a world class save like that with her left leg was absolutely incredible.

But I think Haiti actually could cause some real problems in this group going forward. They definitely could. Just on Mary Earps as well, though, like one of the things that really impressed me was when in the interview that she did with us she talked a little bit about the pressure that speaking out puts on you and you know that her saying this adds extra pressure and um that you know she's got just got to deal with it and get on with it and that she's you know going to strive to perform at her absolute absolute best level so she can look back on these conversations and be in a strong position. And then to go in and put in a performance like that where you're not necessarily expecting to see much of the ball, but suddenly you're having to step up in really, really critical moments and make the difference was really impressive in that context.

But yeah, Haiti, I mean, hugely impressive. I was saying earlier on that I think a lot of the debutantes have really surprised me. And weirdly, the one that everyone sort of had the eye on, Zambia, are sort of the ones who really struggled. But, you know, you look at, obviously, they've got a lot of off-pitch problems. But, you know, you look at like Vietnam and Costa Rica and stuff, and they've not had the massive scorelines that you saw in 2019 and I think there has been a little bit of a shift and Haiti

performance is probably the standout of those because they really you know if they had got a point out of this game it would have been deserved. Also they're sort of an example of what it means to play against England now as well and I don't just say that as like some sort of an example of what it means to play against England now as well and I don't

just say that as like a yeah some sort of western bias but when you rise like England did and also everyone is looking at you everyone is writing about you you are how you play is analyzed in so many different ways there's a lot more data and information to then set up and prepare against you combine that with then the kind of mentality of we're playing against england we really want to get a result here and we need to silence them and shut them down however we can and often what we obviously what we've seen is is teams sitting deep being really gritty really physical against us and stifling us as much as possible and then trying to play on the break and they did that fantastically today their chances were really really good but it was just clearly excellent preparation against us combined with that kind of attitude and mentality of we are going to

kick them and there was a lot of there was a lot of fouls well but maybe not as many fouls but really aggressive challenges which the England girls looked a little bit like shocked by right it's like they didn't have as much time on the ball that they maybe thought they might have been able to have. And I think that's what we do. We've come to expect that now. And I think we need to be better at responding to teams like that. Yeah. And Serena Vigman said at the end she was relieved when the final whistle finally went, which actually we haven't even said that either because that was all very strange. The referee was like, I was the centre of attention

in the first half, I want to be centre of attention in the second half. No, she didn't do that. That wasn't her point. Do we even know what happened? No, we don't. What happened? I think there was a drop ball. It looked like a free kick. I think somebody in the crowd might have blown the whistle. No, no, I think she blew her whistle

three times, right? I thought she'd realized that she hadn't played the free kick to to then blow the whistle so she had to i don't know i don't know i got up out my seat anyway i went to go make a cup of tea and it was still playing i thought people started leaving everyone just went oh it's like clapping and leaving and then the ball was just i was walking down to the mix zone so i missed the entire thing oh well it was it was a sight to behold anyway but the game did end. And as I say, Serena Wiegmann was relieved.

By the way, I think Haiti definitely won over a few hearts there. And if you want to find out a little bit more about each of the nations participating in this World Cup, be sure to check out the Guardian Women's World Cup 2023 Teams Guide. Right, also in Group D, not an extremely exciting game until the dying moments, but a fairly close-fought contest. It finished Denmark 1, China 0, a 90th-minute winner from Vansgaard. What can England take from this game? Are Denmark and China both beatable, Raph? Yeah, definitely. I think, you know, China stifled Denmark in the first half. I was watching it. It wasn't the most entertaining game

because of that. I think tactically, China got it right in terms of nullifying the threats. Peniel Harder was struggling to get on the ball. I think the game

was calling out for Bruin to come in, which she did in the second half. China just lacked any final product, but they were great at, you know,

reducing the threat, keeping the pitch narrow. But there wasn't much spark in terms of creativity. So I think it's going to be different games than we've seen against Haiti, but ones that might be more suited to how England play. Yeah, Amelie van Schaert with the header in the end. It was a controversial goal, though, Susie. I know that you might not have, you know, had a chance to see it live, but I know you've watched the replay back.

It could potentially have been given as offside with Siveki running towards the ball as it passed Huan Zhu into China's net. Should it have been offside? I mean, my first instinct watching the replay is yes, because two players that are sort of racing through, the one who was offside, are both in the way of the goalkeeper's view. They're not obviously directly interfering with the ball, but they're right in the line of sight of the goalkeeper. For me, that's a big issue, regardless of whether they're moving through the air or whatever it be. If you can't see where the ball is going you can't adjust your position at all so in that sense like potentially yeah like I can see why it could be given either way as well though because it does bounce she is diving but I just think it's very unfair on the goalkeeper I don't think we give goalkeepers enough to go with in situations like that really also it feels a bit like something's

got to be on your side as in luck if you're scoring ahead of from that far out at that pace like the ball that goal should not go in in usual circumstances it's funny you say that though because I think it was in the the beginning of the second half Hasbro missed an like an open goal the ball bounced across the six yard box and and she should have scored an open goal. So it's kind of like they had the luck then and then it was taken away from them. Do you want to just go and speak to IFAB and get all the laws changed

so that every single game is fair for both teams, the lot of you? No, but I know what you're saying though. Sometimes you do have to feel for the goalkeepers in those positions when they're surrounded by so many players. It's difficult. Very difficult.

Salon, England play Denmark next. What are they going to need to be aware of? I mean, you could look at both games and think both sides could potentially win this, but what would you expect? Well, I've actually got, in my predictions, I've got England coming second in the group. Ooh. I know the group. Oh.

I know, shock. Wow. And I think it's probably down to a lack of goal scoring. And I think Denmark will bag more goals. Although, I'm not sure now. After both, well, I'm more firm in my predictions on England, but maybe less firm on the predictions on Denmark. No, it's going to be obviously probably

the most important game of the group, not to write off China or Haiti at this point. But I do think, yeah, it will be a real teller. But then I think there's something about when England are playing against teams who are more expansive or move the ball around a bit more. I think we do then play better.

It's the age-old thing of when you play against a better team, you tend to play better against them. And I think that will be our test and a real... Hopefully we'll answer some of those questions, Susie, that you're arguing are still very much unanswered, as they are, I think. Yeah, and I'm very relieved, Salon. You know, but I think we maybe need to educate Raph

as to the predictions of this pod are very rarely accurate, Raph. So hopefully Salon is true to form there and totally, totally wrong. Right, that's it for part one. We'll be back shortly to discuss USA's first game of the tournament and Zambia's first ever World Cup match. Welcome back to part two of the Guardian Women's Football Weekly right let's take a look at Group E and the world champions got their World Cup defence underway against Vietnam it was a 3-0 victory in the end before we dissect this one we have a voice note from the Guardian's Jeff Kasuf Jeff Kasuf here at Eden Park in Auckland, New Zealand,

where the United States has just begun their 2023 World Cup campaign and title defense. And what they hope is an historic three-peat with a 3-0 victory over Vietnam. Sophia Smith scored twice in the first half in her World Cup debut and then assisted Lindsay Horan's goal in the second half as the U.S. cruised past a Vietnam team that failed to even register a shot and played in a five-back in an ultra-low block. U.S. head coach Vlachoninovsky rolled out a starting 11 that had never played together before in a competitive match, and that included Julie Ertz returning to her old center-back

position alongside Naomi Gurma and a surprise start in the number 10 role for Savannah DeMello. DeMello was deputizing for Rose Lavelle, who had been injured and dealing with a knee injury for the past three months. But in further good news for the U.S., Lavelle entered the match just after the hour mark alongside Megan Rapinoe, and the two nearly combined for a goal minutes later. Lavelle then rattled the crossbar on a shot of her own. After the match, she said she felt great, and she certainly looked it on the pitch. The U.S. attempted 27 shots but put only 8 on frame, and that was an area afterward where Ananofsky said he'd like to see some improvement. Among those finishing issues was a penalty kick

just before halftime, which Alex Morgan struck low and right up the middle, and it was saved. Overall, though, it was a good match for the U.S. and a good one to get out of the way. Six of the 11 starters had never played in the World Cup before, and there was talk afterward, even from the very confidence of E.S. Smith, she did admit, there were some nerves. With that match behind them, the Americans now turn to next week where on Thursday local time, they have a 2019 final rematch with the Netherlands

in a match that is expected to decide Group E. On Saturday here at Eden Park, it was mission accomplished against Vietnam. They've got their victory and they hope the first of six to come. Brilliant stuff.

Thank you very much to jeff kasuf for that very in-depth um analysis of the usa's uh match we'll talk about that netherlands game very shortly but suzy usa seen by many as the favorites for this tournament 71 possession 22 shots on goal as jeff said none for vietnam what you make of this? Yeah I mean it was a routine victory but at the same time it wasn't quite as swaggering and free-flowing as I thought it would be I actually thought it was slightly disappointing from a US perspective and I've seen a few fans say similar I think that's maybe not fair given that there are so many new players within that starting 11 that they're still forming relationships that they're sort of very much a team in transition I think that's maybe not fair, given that there are so many new players within that starting XI,

that they're still forming relationships, that they're sort of very much a team in transition. You know, they've still got Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan and some of those more experienced players around the side, almost ushering in the new generation in this tournament and sort of coaching them in the US way of being at a World Cup. So I think it was an impressive performance given all of those things. And just Sophia Smith is just an absolute delight to watch. Just so incredibly talented, plays with such freedom and confidence. And yeah, like could do something really, really special at a first World Cup in a really exciting way to watch. Early shout for player of the tournament, golden boot winner Raph, for you?

Yeah, I've been seeing on Twitter that's the consensus. But I think she actually had a really good game. I think it was quite disjointed, like Susie mentioned. Still not as free-flowing as we're used to seeing from a USA team, but they've got some big players in that team. And for me, Smith, yeah, I think she's going to be one of the standout players. They do go all the way. But also Rodman for me, the way that she dictated the game,

obviously new to the World Cup, her debut World Cup as well. She was a standout player for me. And I'm going to be quite interested to see how she progresses for the tournament. Let's just talk about that poor penalty. I saw you tweet Salon. Did she slip? What happened? Alex Morgan, terrible penalty, really. Saved by the legs of T. Kim Tan Tran.

Let's not take anything away from the Vietnam goalkeeper. But, I mean, should do better, could do better. Yeah, I had to tweet because we were on a roadside rural town somewhere between Sydney and Brisbane on a 12-hour drive trying to find somewhere to stop off to watch USA Vietnam and couldn't find anywhere at 11 o'clock in the morning that was showing it. So we got a legal stream. We watched it on our own devices but then we didn't

have it and I had to go on on my app and I saw that the notification was penalty awarded penalty miss Alex Morgan injury break all within like a minute I was like what's happened here that's quite a fun thing to try and work out I wonder whether the ball had sort of hit her and the ball had rebounded and hit her in the face or something. I don't know how you get injured after taking a pen. But then I saw it and thought that was, yeah, a really poor penalty, but particularly from a player like Alex Morgan in a moment like that, you know, not massively under pressure against a team that you should be cruising past

to then put a penalty where she put it. It was, yeah, quite a pathetic penalty and And yeah, fair play to the Vietnamese goalkeeper, but I think most people probably could have saved that. Megan Rapinoe made her 200th appearance for the national team, nearly marked it with a goal as well. Incredible career she's had and showing that she can still do something special on the world stage, Susie. Yeah, definitely.

I mean, I think you could see quite a bit of rustiness in her performance as well. You know, she's not played a huge amount of football but she's just like got so much swagger and is so influential and I think we saw that in 2019 as well right like she had not played a huge amount of football before the World Cup and then came in and did some very very special things so what I think is really interesting is I don't think anyone has particularly shone in this these first however many fixtures and I think the the next round is really going to set the tone of who are the real standout teams in this tournament and I think Rapinoe is another that has sort of to a certain, suffered from the still shaking off the rust curse of these opening games.

Yeah, and of course, USA will face Netherlands on Thursday. Netherlands getting their campaign underway on Sunday, which we'll analyse in Monday's pod. For anyone who was under a rock in 2019 2019 these are the same two teams who faced off in the final of that World Cup and USA came out on top ultimately but they look good today so it'd be interesting to see how the Netherlands look on Sunday let's take a look at Group C because Japan put in an impressive performance to beat Zambia by five goals to nil. They were all over them throughout the game. Zambia making their debut at a World Cup and the attacking force of Hinata, Miyazawa, Jun Endo and Mina Tanaka were on fire. Four goals between them, including Miyazawa with two and Riko Weiki came on and grabbed a goal late in the game as well. Could have been more. Two offside decisions early in the second half,

denying Japan a goal and a penalty. And Zambia keeper Catherine Massonda gave away a penalty in the 97th minute, received a second yellow card as a result of that, meaning a red and a one-match suspension. The last thing that Zambia would want from there. Eunice Sakala came on and saved a penalty though, but came off her line too quickly. Same as in England's

game earlier on against Haiti. So the penalty had to be retaken and it was Wakey that slotted that penalty home. What can Zambia take, if anything, from this game, Raph? Look, I think it was such a dominant display from Japan. Susie, I know you said about not highlighting

any standout teams, but for me, Japan, and I know that Zambia opponents weren't the strongest, but the way they dominated the game, we're used to seeing that from Japan. They're passing control, possession game, delivering from wide areas, endo creating. But on the Zambia side, I think what they lacked was any kind of calm

when they did have possession, that they did panic. But I think what they have to kind of take from that is it could have been a lot more. I think they went for direct play when they did have possession, so maybe looking to utilise that a little bit more in terms of relieving that pressure. But yeah, a really difficult game for Zambia. Obviously, goalkeeper with the red card.

So I think they're going to have to rebuild, maybe tactically really try and narrow off and reduce the goals going in. Yeah, I mean, the goalkeeper position is a big problem for Zambia because I think if I've heard correctly, I believe they've had to call up an 18-year-old literally a couple of days ago

who is now going to have to step in and play that position which is quite wild in terms of Zambia disappointing and Japan excelling I mean I said it earlier you know Zambia have had a lot of off-field problems you know allegations against the coach who is still in charge for this tournament you know it's obviously a really disappointing like backdrop to their campaign that had so much promise after they sort of really lit up the olympics yeah quite disappointing to not see them do more but i completely agree with raf that if you're going to pick a standout team of these first bunch of games it is Japan and I'm like salivating at the idea of the Japan Spain game and those two teams that keep the ball so phenomenally against each other is just going to be like a real thrill to watch really excited about that you know you said it was wild they've got Spain next Spain scored

three and should have had more against Costa Rica the other day. So that is not going to be a fun start to the tournament for sure. Japan had 68% possession in the game, 10 shots on target compared to Zambia's zero.

It's going to be a fascinating end to Group C. As I say, Zambia have Spain next. So more of the same from them and more of the same for them and more of the same for Japan against Costa Rica, potentially. Salon, that's all the day's action, by the way, for you. But you want to speak about the New Zealand 75ers, Salon? Yeah, I had the privilege of meeting the New Zealand and Australian 1975 squads

the other day who were kind of reunited and given their their respects and their dues that they've been long overdue and yeah I got chatting to to the New Zealanders particularly who actually won the Asia Cup in 1975 they were the first ever group of women to represent New Zealand led by their captain Barbara Cox who was just a beautiful beautiful woman first woman to ever play with her daughter professionally or for international duty. So they played on the same team. And later, Kiwi captain Bex Smith played with Michelle Cox, the daughter. And Bex was there as well.

So it was a beautiful intergenerational celebration of kind of women in football, really. And yeah, just to hear the stories of kind of women in football really and yeah just to hear the stories of kind of women who'd gone before us in 75 and to see them being recognized with a shirt and kind of being really celebrated was yeah really special and almost felt like a splash of actually what they should have received and to to be here and and celebrating a host tournament and looking at a game that feels unrecognizable to what what they experienced they actually played in front of 14 000 people in hong kong when they won the asia cup and they were telling me stories of um yeah they like loads of people bet on that match and they then were like the subject they had to get a police escort out of the ground and

their bus was like windows were broken on their bus because people were so angry they'd lost so much money because these new zealand women had come over and won the cup and then telling us these stories of how they were reuniting the squad over the last year trying to get them all back together and thinking that Elaine was dead but Elaine was there they were like we couldn't get hold of her for a year we thought she's dead I was like no she's right here and Elaine was like I'm not dead and they were playing a game of walking football against Australia but I really really warmed to the New Zealand women and just felt in awe of kind of everything that they've done over those last 58 years to further the game

and the things they had to go through to be able to play and um it just made you really what made me feel really like humble and grateful to be you know in in these host nations enjoying a tournament that you know they is theirs really they it kind of belongs to them. And how incredible that they get to see the 50,000 or so that were packed into Eden Park for the opening game of the tournament. You know, that they started that progress off in the first place. That's absolutely incredible. Right, that's it. Salon, lovely to see you as always.

Rocking that Lionesses Away shirt from the European Championships that I remember borrowing at that hotel that we did the final recording after the final. This has got all the vibes, you and Susie together in a kitchen of that that we did in a bedroom in a Premier Inn

just outside of Wembley. But you've got tea. We have to recreate it. Well, you've got tea instead of beer, which I'm very disappointed with you about. Well, give us just under a month, Sunday 20th of August, some hotel room in Sydney, and I'm sure that these teas will be swapped for beers.

I will be joining you, I hope. Susie, always a pleasure. Get some sleep. Likewise. Got a flight tomorrow. Oh, safe journey. Raph, see you soon. See you soon, Faye.

Thanks, everyone. We'll be back on Monday to discuss all but one of the first round of group games, including Netherlands, Portugal, France, Jamaica and Germany versus Morocco. And remember, you can keep in touch throughout the tournament by emailing womensfootballweekly at theguardian.com. Women's Football Weekly is produced by Silas Gray. Music composition was by Laura Iredale and our executive producer is Salah Ahmad. Women's Football Weekly is supported by Google Pixel.

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