WWC Group D 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇭🇹🇩🇰🇨🇳 Lionesses the big favourites | OneFootball

It’s time to turn our attention to Group D and how England will kick off their Women’s World Cup campaign.

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Who is in Group D?

The favourites

England are the big, big favourites heading into this group and have ambitions to win the tournament.

Even without Leah Williamson and Beth Mead, both key in last summer’s Euros triumph, the Lionesses have one of the strongest squads and it’s time to go further than their placing as semi-finalists in 2015 and 2019.

What’s the key game?

With big things expected from England, the opening game will provide a chance to make a statement. But for who?

England play Haiti to kick-off and it will be intriguing to see what the underdogs can do in their World Cup finals debut and whether we can expect them to challenge the other two sides in the group, while the other opening game between Denmark and China is considered the fixture most likely to determine who will join England in the knockout rounds.

Can you give me a player to watch for every team?

Georgia Stanway (England)

Tenacious and technical, Stanway is an all-round midfielder who is always in the heat of battle. The midfielder marries end product and threat in the final third with a reputation for getting stuck in, notably picking up eight yellow cards in her first season in the Frauen Bundesliga with Bayern Munich.

Pernille Harder (Denmark)

Now a team-mate of Stanway’s — Harder joined Bayern from Chelsea on a free transfer this summer — the striker is raring to go this summer having missed much of 2022/23 through injury. When she was fit, she enjoyed her finest form in three years in London (eight goals in 10 WSL appearances). A clinical finisher and selfless forward, Harder is the key to success for Denmark.

Nérilia Mondésir (Haiti)

With an incredible international record of 18 goals in 12 appearances, Mondésir could be one of the surprise turns of the tournament for this group’s underdogs. Though she is just 24, the striker made her international debut nine years ago and scored nine league goals for Montpellier in 2022/23.

Wang Shuang (China)

Formerly of PSG and currently of Racing Louisville, Wang took up football as she overcame the loneliness of being abandoned by her parents and has spent most of her career in Asia. The midfielder has particularly shone on the international stage, with 43 goals in 121 caps, not bad for a player primarily recognised as a creative talent.

And the big storyline?

We’re all wondering if England can back up their Euros success on the global stage but what about China and the rise of talent outside of Asia?

Two-time semi-finalists (one time runners-up) and four-time quarter-finalists, China only snuck out of the group stage in 2019 and lost their round of 16 clash with Italy. But they did win the 2022 Asia Cup — a competition they dominated until the 2000s — sparking hope that they could be on the rise again.

With so many players playing in China, they’re not the easiest to assess and their clashes against top European opposition should reveal plenty.

Prediction

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