Ninth day of the ninth edition of the FIFA WWC brought lots of emotion. Excitement, resolve, pain, it had it all.
Argentina were involved in yet another World Cup classic, England with another toothache win which was overshadowed by injury to yet another key player and then China showed how to play with 10 players.
There was drama, golazos and disappointment in equal parts, in short it was eventful.
Let’s get into the action!
Match 25: Argentina 2-2 South Africa
On 20th June 2019, Argentina played a World Cup classic against Scotland. After being 3-0 down until the final 15 minutes of the game, La Albiceleste completed a sensational comeback to snatch a point right at the death.
Four years later, on July 28th 2023, Argentina went 2-0 down against South Africa and completed a sensational comeback to secure a point.
While the hunt for the first World Cup win continues, Argentina are making it a habit to produce classics. South Africa, on the other hand, have made a habit of not closing down games and despite winning their first ever point in World Cup history, the African nation will feel frustrated.
The Banyana Banyana were the better side a for large parts gainst Sweden but ended up with nothing after a late winner from Amanda Illestedt sunk them. Against Argentina, South Africa generated an xG of 2.1 compared to Argentina’s 0.8 and still came away with just a draw.
The defensive organization of both the sides was questionable in this game but chaos produces fun and this game was fun.
South Africa were set-up in their 4-4-2, poised to play on the transition using the pace and directness of Thembi Kgatlana. They only managed to keep 39% of the ball in the entire game and had a passing accuracy of just 64% with almost a quarter of their passes being over 30 yards.
Argentina’s 4-2-3-1 was matched player for player by Banyana Banyana, which resulted in a lot of separate individual duels between players. Argentina used the ball better than their opponents and got into the final third pretty frequently but couldn’t muster many good opportunities until late on.
This screenshot of the sequence of play before the first goal is a peek into the sort of defensive disorganization that was a part of the game. It allowed South Africa to easily carve through Argentina’s defence on transitions.
Argentina’s equalizer was a similar story as well. The marking from South Africa on that cross was very poor as nobody picked out the substitute Romina Nunez inside the box. The spacing and compactness of the lines was off for both sides.
Thembi Kgatlana impressed with her performance once again as she continues to be the talismanic figure for her national team. She was the main outlet to her side’s direct approach, receiving and then running in behind with the ball. She moved really well into the channels and offered as an outball for her side, making it all work. Scored the second goal with a good run and created the first with a nice ball across the face of goal.
The scorer of potentially the goal of the tournament, Sophia Braun, enjoyed a very good outing from right-back for La Albiceleste. She was influential with the ball, often coming narrow and got stuck in multiple times during the game and recovered possession quite well without the ball. Her thunderous volley from outside the box was the cherry on top.
Both the teams are still alive in the competition and will be eagerly waiting on the outcome of Sweden vs Italy tomorrow. South African manager, Desiree Ellis, expressed her discontent on her side’s inability to close games down and take their chances as the hunt for first ever win continues for both the teams with Argentina now winless in all 11 of their World Cup games.
Match 26: England 1-0 Denmark
In what was one of the anticipated games of group D turned out to be a nightmare for the Lionesses. The European champions continue to pay their debt to the devil for their triumph last summer. As the 2019 semi-finalists lost yet another key member from previous year’s Euro winning squad.
Having started the game in blistering fashion with Lauren James netting the opener in the sixth minute with a powerful shot from outside the box, England finished the game sluggishly.
In a rare ocurrence, Sarina Weigman made two changes to her Lionesses lineup from the opening day, bringing in Lauren James and Rachel Daly. James replaced Hemp in the starting XI while Daly reprised her role as the left-back for England once again.
Denmark stubbornly continued with their Pernille Harder at number 9, which saw them struggle in the previous game as well. Things didn’t change for the better in this game. Denmark only generated 0.6 xG in the entire game and couldn’t harness the best of Harder either. Lars Søndergaard wasn’t proactive in making changes like the previous game either and although they hit the post once, it was largely a very muted performance once again from the Scandinavian country.
But the big talking point of this game was the injury to metronome Keira Walsh. The midfielder suffered a knee injury and had to be stretchered out in the first half, leaving England’s plan in jeopardy. Walsh is Weigman’s most important player and the Euros last year was a crowning moment for the former Man City player.
Her impact on England’s playstyle was immediately evident. Weigman moved Stanway to a deeper role and brought on Laura Coombs but the European champions didn’t look the same.
The change in England’s passing tendencies before and after Walsh’s injury is interesting:
We see the entire team sitting slightly more deeper now, a bit more conservative. This isn’t simply gamestate effect cause England scored in the sixth minute. Walsh’s presence allows England to be more expansive.
The impact seems more prominent on the left hand side. Rachel Daly (#9) is stationed deeper after the injury and has seen far less passes being played to her.
James (#7) was seen much deeper and tucked in compared to her initial positioning with Walsh in the lineup. It basically handicaps them in terms of progression from the left half of the pitch.
England lose one of their best ball progressor, after having previously lost Leah Williamson as well. This puts an enormous amount of progression load on Alex Greenwood in defence.
Opposition will surely pick up on this and force England into long hopeful balls and some running from their wingers. Besides this the defensive strain on someone like Georgia Stanway will be huge after this as she will have to compensate elsewhere and given the combative nature of the Bayern Munich midfielder it could come at the risk of some yellow cards.
With this loss England’s ball progression takes a big hit and how they deal with it, whether a formation change or with something else remains to be seen.
The big injury talk aside, this was James’ moment in the sun. The Chelsea winger started the game after impressing in the cameo against Haiti and looked equally good. Her effortless ball carrying and take-on ability was on display as she started from the left wing and drifted into the central zones. Her dribbling style is so unique as it’s not stemmed in pace but rather subtle change of pace, amazing footwork and use of body. This allows her to ride challenges and still progress the ball.
She is able to hold onto possession and use her on-ball gravity to pull the defensive shapes out and pick out passes. She puts the foot on the ball and brings a sense of calm. Arguably England’s most important player in attack right now based on form.
England take two wins in two but the price is arguably bigger. Team is obviously a sum of all of its parts but Walsh is an irreplaceable asset for the Lionesses and how they deal with it will be imperative for their campaign.
Match 27: China 1-0 Haiti
This was an interesting battle for qualification spots in group D. This was the one outcome that has left all four nations with a fighting chance to get to the next round with England having the upper hand.
The game was feisty and marred with some questionable officiating towards the end but interesting nonetheless.
Debutants Haiti after impressing in their opener against giants England were without prodigious Melchie Dumornay while the Steel Roses star, Wang Shuang, was on the bench once again.
China were in their typical 4-4-2 shape while Haiti came out in a 4-2-3-1 setup. Haiti were quite aggressive in their approach in this game as they looked to put 4 players in the forward line during the press closely marking China’s passing option in buildup, forcing them to bypass the short passing option and opt for long balls.
However this 4-2-4 pressing approach high up the field limited the probability that Haiti would win the second balls and this gave China a foothold in the game.
An early red card to midfielder Zhang Rui meant China played over two third of the game at a player disadvantage but Haiti couldn’t capitalize on that with their suboptimal approach. The Steel Roses showcased delicate play and steely nature when defending. They quickly shifted to a 4-4-1 setup and tried to maintain a compact block and defend the box in numbers.
The introduction of Dumornay and Wang Shuang in second half was key for both the sides. Dumornay added a hint of explosiveness while Shuang was able to help China hold onto possession much better and create threat when they got on the ball. Despite being a player down, China finished with a higher possession than Haiti, albeit marginally.
Penalty drama ensued in the final 15 minutes of the game as China were awarded a penalty for a foul on Zhang Linyan which Shuang confidently dispatched. But here began a series of decisions that had it’s impact on the proceedings.
China were denied a second penalty in quick succession and Haiti were denied a penalty too as the game headed towards a nervy finish.
Aside from all the referee decision, which was definitely a factor, Haiti’s approach after going a goal down wasn’t optimal and stripped them of any player advantage they had. The 4-1-5 approach of throwing the kitchen sink didn’t yield the desired results and worked in China’s hands, who still maintained their organization in a 4-4-1 shape.
China’s Zhang Linyan was mightly impressive with her performance. She put in a double shift to compensate for the player disadvantage and performed really well. She was relentless without the ball and purposeful on it. She put her pace to good use and provided an excellent threat on counter for China, her quickness earned the Steel Roses the penalty that eventually won them the game. She ran the channels between the centerback and fullback beautifully and could have even had a goal to show for it.
Wang Shuang's introduction was definitely the turning point for China. They were able to hold onto the ball better, progress it and be effective with it despite being a player down. The Racing Louisville player showcased her nifty footwork, vision and close control to link play and provided support across the pitch in the second half.
Haiti are technically still in the running but will be disappointed to not have scored in any of their opening two games. They were really good for spells in both these games. China’s qualification will come down to result elsewhere and they will be hoping that fortune favors them again.
Highlight of the day
Absolutely has to be this contender of the goal of the tournament from Sophia Braun to kick start Argentina’s comeback!