England Haiti Reaction: Arsenal icon hails ‘great individual performance’ of teen star

A first half penalty from Georgia Stanway and a super late save from Mary Earps saw England take a narrow 1-0 win over World Cup debutants Haiti as the Lionesses began their tournament campaign with a win.

It was far from a comfortable evening down under for England with Nicolas Delépine’s side arguably worthy of a point at the Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane - and much of the praise was reserved for attacker Melchie Durmornay who was outstanding for Les Grenadières.

Her pace, power and intelligence on the ball were a real thorn in the side for the Lionesses as the European Championship struggled to deal with the 19-year-old.

A constant threat to Sarina Wiegman’s side throughout the game, especially in the first half where she won more duels (8), completed more take-ons (4/4) and created more chances (3) than any other player in the first half alone.

Her performance was praised by Arsenal and Women’s Super League (WSL) record goalscorer Vivianne Miedema who Tweeted: ‘Strong performance from Haïti. Physically good and quick in transition. Created some big chances today. Great individual performance from Dumornay and game winning saves from Earps for England’.

Durmornay, who will join French giants Lyon upon the conclusion of the tournament, completed more passes in her opposition’s half than any of her team mates and made more passes in the final third and had more successful dribbles than any other player on the pitch as she announced her arrival on the world stage.

However, former England and Arsenal forward Ian Wright was critical of the decision to leave Chelsea attacker Lauren James out of the starting XI. He took to his Twitter account in the aftermath of the game to claim there is ‘absolutely no way’ the 21-year-old should be have started the game on the substitutes bench.

James did make an appearance when she replaced Lauren Hemp on 61 minutes but many were surprised the Blues winger did not begin the game after an outstanding season in the WSL that saw her win the double with Emma Hayes side.

England’s win sees them go top of Group D in the World Cup ahead of their next game against Denmark, who they will face at the Allianz Stadium in Sydney on Friday (kick off: 9.30am BST).