The England Women’s National Team kicked off their 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup campaign with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Scotland on Sunday. The match, which was played in Nice, France, was a tense affair that saw England take the lead early in the second half through a penalty from captain Steph Houghton.
The match started off with both teams looking to press forward and create chances. England had the better of the early exchanges, with Scotland struggling to keep up with their opponents’ pace and intensity. The first real chance of the match came in the 24th minute when England’s Nikita Parris had a shot blocked by Scotland goalkeeper Lee Alexander.
The match remained goalless until the second half, when England were awarded a penalty after Scotland defender Nicola Docherty was adjudged to have handled the ball in the box. Houghton stepped up and coolly slotted home the penalty to give England the lead.
Scotland responded well to going behind and created several chances of their own, but were unable to find an equaliser. England held on for the win, with goalkeeper Karen Bardsley making several crucial saves to keep Scotland at bay.
The victory was a great start for England, who will now look to build on this result as they continue their World Cup campaign. They will face Argentina in their next match on Friday, and will be hoping to secure another three points to put them in a strong position in Group D.
England will be looking to make history this summer by becoming the first team to win back-to-back Women’s World Cups. With a strong start to their campaign, they will be confident of achieving this goal and making their mark on the tournament.
