Three top teams — England, Japan and the USA — secured impressive victories despite being pushed to the brink against their much lower-ranked opponents in the ongoing 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup on Saturday, July 22. With the day's matches at an end, we take a look at a round-up of the matches that were played and their respective scorelines.
USA 3-0 Vietnam
Defending champions USA began their campaign on the perfect note with a victory over Vietnam. It was a completely dominating performance as the younger stars of the team took them to their victory. Sophia Smith scored two of the goals in the first half while veteran forward Alex Morgan saw a penalty saved in the first half as well.
The third goal was scored by Lindsey Horan in the 77th minute, with one of the seven shots that they managed. The only drawback might be the performance of veteran footballers like Morgan herself as well as Megan Rapinoe. The victory, however, put their team in a brilliant position for qualification to the knockouts.
Japan 5-0 Zambia
This was a match that was also very one-sided and was so debilitating that a few players of the Zambian team were in tears after the victory. Their main aggressor was Hinata Miyazawa, who scored in either half of the match. They have 26 shots and 11 on target, with four of their goals coming in the second half.
After Miyazawa gave her team the lead, Mina Tanaka made it two in the 55th minute after which Miyazawa made it three in the 62nd minute. Jun Endo scored 71 minutes but the referee oiled more misery on the African side after Catherine Musonda received a red card. The final goal was scored by Riko Ueki in extra time.
England 1-0 Haiti
Probably the best match of the day, England managed to score only one goal against Haiti, and almost did not win the game if not for their goalkeeper Mary Earps, who made multiple saves in the death to keep the scoreline intact. Their only goal of the game also came from the penalty spot but was almost not a goal as the initial penalty was saved by Kerly Theus. But VAR reviewed the save and saw that the shot-stopper was off her line. The penalty was then converted by Georgia Stanway as eventually gave her team the required points.
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