European champions England will kick off their 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup campaign against CONCACAF minnows Haiti on Saturday.
The Lionesses finished fourth at the 2019 World Cup before winning last summer’s UEFA Women’s Euro 2022 on home soil.
Can you tell we're excited? 😅#FIFAWWC pic.twitter.com/AusLi1bLU9— Lionesses (@Lionesses) July 20, 2023
Can you tell we're excited? 😅#FIFAWWC pic.twitter.com/AusLi1bLU9
By contrast, Haiti are featuring at the first-ever World Cup, having failed to qualify for each of the previous six editions of the tournament.
England head into the World Cup on a four-game winless run, having recorded three draws and one loss since the Arnold Clark Cup back in February.
Following a draw – and a penalty shootout defeat – against Brazil, the Lionesses lost 2-0 against Australia before recording goalless draws with Portugal and Canada.
It is worth remembering, however, that England have lost just one of their 32 matches under Sarina Wiegman, picking up 25 wins and six draws along the way.
On top of that, the Lionesses have scored over 3.5 goals on five occasions in past 12 months, with a 10-0 thrashing of Luxembourg coming in September 2022.
As for Haiti, have recorded two wins and two draws across four friendly matches in the lead-up to their maiden World Cup appearance.
After suffering a 2-1 defeat to Nigeria, the Haitians defeated Moldova (3-1) and Malta (5-0) before losing 2-1 against South Korea earlier this month.
When you look at the bigger picture, Haiti have lost five of their last six matches across all competitions, suffering three defeats in the recent Central American & Caribbean Games Women.
It is also worth pointing out that Haiti have not drawn any of their previous 21 encounters, meaning we are likely to see a winner and a loser this weekend.
Head-to-head: This is the first-ever meeting between the women’s sides of England and Haiti, so there are no previous results to assess for this fixture.
Team news: England are without key players Leah Williamson, Beth Mead and Fran Kirby due to injury, although their squad is still stacked with world-class players.
On the flip side, 14 members of Haiti’s squad play their club football in France, including Dijon forward Roselord Borgella, who has scored 20 goals in 25 international outings.
When you couple the strength of England’s players with the inexperience of Haiti’s squad, all the signs point towards a comfortable win for the Lionesses.
With that in mind, Forebet predicts that England will score over 5.5 goals and keep a clean sheet on their way to thrashing Haiti.