England, ranked fourth in the FIFA rankings, won 1-0 in the second Group D match against Denmark (13th in the FIFA rankings) at Sydney Football Stadium on the 28th, defending Lauren James’ first goal in the 6th minute of the first half.
England, which finished fourth in two recent World Cup tournaments (3rd in 2015 and 4th in 2019), beat Haiti 1-0 in the first leg on the 22nd and took the lead in Group D with six points with one goal difference in two consecutive games.
Denmark, which returned to the World Cup finals 16 years after the 2007 China Games and beat China 1-0 in its first match, finished second in the group with one win and one loss (3 points).
Six minutes into the game, England’s 2001 striker James scored a goal that determined the game.
James, who received a pass from Rachel Daley on the left side, approached the penalty arc and hit a right-footed shot between the defense shook the net.
Denmark, led by leading striker Fernile Haarder, who scored 70 goals in 143 A matches, failed to score any of eight shots, including four effective shots.
In the 42nd minute of the second half, Amalie Bangsgor’s header hit the right post and escaped, which also blocked Denmark.
England took the advantage of advancing to the round of 16, but key midfielder Kira Walsh’s knee injury in the first half remained a variable in the future schedule.
In other Group D matches held in Adelaide, Australia, China (14th in the FIFA rankings) beat Haiti (53rd) 1-0.
China has the same three points, zero goal difference, and one point as Denmark, but it is currently in third place after losing the results of the competition.
Haiti, which is in its first World Cup finals, remained at the bottom of the group (0 points) without scoring its first goal and winning points again.
China faced a crisis in the 29th minute of the first half when veteran midfielder Zhang Ruyi was sent off.
Jang Rui’s move to put his foot toward his knee in a competition with his opponent Shirley Jody was initially warned, but it was changed to a exit through an on-field review by the referee.
China, which had endured numerical inferiority, scored the winning goal with a golden penalty in the 29th minute of the second half.
A penalty kick was declared for Zhang Linyan’s foul from his opponent Ruthini Maturin inside the penalty area, and kicker Wang Shuang calmly scored.
In the Group G match held at Dunedin Stadium in New Zealand, Argentina (28th in the FIFA rankings) and South Africa (54th) tied 2-2, which have yet to win their first World Cup finals.
The two teams scored one point with one draw and one loss in the group stage.
The goal difference is the same as -1, with South Africa (3 goals) in third place ahead of Argentina (2 goals) in scoring, while Argentina remained in fourth place.
In this group, Sweden and Italy are leading with three points each. The two teams are set to face off in the second round on the 29th.
South Africa took the lead with consecutive goals by Linda Motlhalo in the 30th minute of the first half and Temby Katlana in the 21st minute of the second half, but Argentina shared one point by responding with Sofia Brown in the 29th minute of the second half and Romina Nunes in the 34th minute.
South Africa, which had previously lost all three games in the World Cup finals for the first time in 2019 France, failed to maintain a two-goal gap after losing 1-2 to Sweden in the first leg of the tournament.
Argentina, which lost only three games in 2003 and 2007 but left two draws and one loss in 2019 France, recorded its third draw in the history of the finals.