(left to right) England's Ella Thun, Georgia Stanway, Alex Greenwood and Rachel Daly prepare for Friday's game against Denmark. Photo: Getty Images/Naomi Baker
After the Women's World Cup opener against Haiti, the European champions will face the toughest opponents in their group, Denmark, who are just nine places behind England in the FIFA Women's Rankings.
Sarina Wigman hinted that she could make changes to the team that beat Haiti last Saturday in this match, despite history suggesting she is unlikely to change the winning side. Read more about Wigman's comments here.
What and when?
England will play Denmark in the second leg of the Women's World Cup on July 28 at 9:30 am BST.
Where the match takes place. ?
The match is being played at a football stadium in Sydney.
How to watch
The match will be broadcast by the BBC.
Who is Denmark?
Denmark is ranked 13th in the world and most recently finished second at this year's Tournoi de France.
What are they saying to Denmark?
Denmark manager Lars Sondergaard called England a football «superpower» but urged his team to cherish this rare opportunity to face them in the World Cup.
«Sometimes when you go into a match where you're the underdog and you have to perform well against a superpower like England, it's easier said than done» , Sondergaard said.
“But the World Cup is only held every four years. years, you won't get much of these features. It would be an undying sin not to enjoy it.”
Denmark striker Pernille Harder added: “It's a pleasure to be in the World Cup and it's really great to play all those matches. So don't think about the pressure, just think about how cool it is.
What do I need to know about Denmark?
Denmark won their first Women's World Cup match 1-0 against China to go into Friday's meeting with England tied on points in Group D. Here are five things you need to know about the Danes.
They should have know the world's most valuable player
Denmark captain Harder moved for a women's record transfer fee of over £250,000 when she signed for Chelsea from German club Wolfsburg in September 2020.
This is a record. stood for two years until Barcelona bought Englishwoman Kira Walsh from Manchester City last summer for just over £400,000.Harder spent three seasons at Chelsea and won three consecutive league titles as well as three consecutive Women's FA Cups. This meant that she had won seven domestic doubles in a row during her career, helping Wolfsburg win the German double four times in a row before her move to London.
She has now returned to the Frauen Bundesliga after agreeing to move to Bayern in Munich is free from the beginning of July.
Their team knows all about WSL
More than a third of the Danish national team played in the Women's Super League last season. In addition to Harder, there is a quartet of Everton players — Rikke Sevekke, Karen Holmgaard, Katrin Veye and Nicolin Sorensen — Reading's Sanne Trulsgaard, West Ham United's Emma Snerle and Arsenal's Katherine Kuhl.
Also, Simone. Boye is a former Arsenal player and Manchester United signed Signe Bruun on loan from Lyon 18 months ago.
They want more investment from big Danish clubs
Asked how they thought Denmark could close the gap to England, Harder and manager Sondergaard passionately called for more of the country's biggest clubs to support women's football.
Harder said: «I think the big clubs in Denmark, they should get a women's team, right? If they have the money to create a good structure in the clubs. This is where you develop as a player. This is your daily job. It would really develop the game.»
Sondergaard added: “Denmark needs a lot of investment, that's for sure. The big clubs should treat women's football as equals.”
They have a glorious history at the international level. . .
Like their Scandinavian neighbors, Denmark has traditionally produced excellent female players, although it has not won such silver medals as Norway and Sweden.
Their national team thrived at Euro 2017, reaching the final after breaking Germany's European dominance with a shocking quarter-final victory to end the tournament in second place. This is one of six times they have reached at least the final four at the European Championships.
. . . but they have a bad result in the World Cup. They didn't even manage to qualify for these 2011, 2015 and 2019 competitions, so they're taking part in their first World Cup finals in 16 years.
Because they also didn't qualify in 2003, that's their fifth performance at the tournament, and they never made it past the quarter-finals.
What do the British say?
Wigman named a consistent starting line-up throughout last summer's European Championship campaign, but asked if she would be «ruthless» in her selection after her team lost to Haiti, she replied: «I will most likely make changes.» has [nothing] to do with this [ruthlessness], I want to make changes.
“What we do is we approach each game and then when we get ready for preparation, first of all we see who is suitable and available, and then we make decisions about where we need to start, and then we decide , are we going to start with the same XI or perhaps make some changes.»
Sarina Wigman (center) said the team «looked really good». No. 39; in training. Photo: PA/Zac Goodwin
Right-back Lucy Bronze emphasized that results are more important for England than performances during the tournament, adding: “In every game, it's important to just win. You can only go all the way to win the World Cup by winning 1-0 or even a draw, and only winning penalty shoot-outs.
“Obviously, performances mean a lot to us, and the better you perform, the more likely you are to win overall, but in the end we win the games that matter to us.
“And there are performances, I think in the moments of the games you see really good performances from both individuals and the collective team. It's about being a little more ruthless, a little more determined in front of the net, and I don't think people will talk so much about performances and results then.»
Wigman also confirmed that the entire roster of 23 players were ready for the match against Denmark.
Who else is in England's group?
England's last match in Group D will be against China, who round out the group with Haiti and Denmark.
>How look like other World Cup groups?
Group A:New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Switzerland
Group B: Australia, Ireland, Nigeria, Canada
Group C: Spain, Costa Rica, Zambia, Japan
Group E: USA, Vietnam, Netherlands, Portugal
Group F: France, Jamaica, Brazil, Panama
Group G: Sweden, South Africa, Italy, Argentina
Group H: Germany, Morocco, Colombia, South Korea
What kind of gear? 2023 Women's World Cup fixtures Who are England players?
Goalkeepers: Mary Earps (Manchester United), Hannah Hampton (Aston Villa), Ellie Roebuck (Manchester City)
Defenders: Millie Bright (Chelsea), Lucy Bronze (Barcelona), Jess Carter (Chelsea), Niamh Charles (Chelsea), Alex Greenwood (Manchester City), Esme Morgan (Manchester City), Lotte Wubben Moy (Arsenal) )
Midfielders: Laura Coombs (Manchester City), Jordan Nobbs (Aston Villa), Georgia Stanway (Bayern), Ella Thun (Manchester United) ), Kira Walsh. (Barcelona), Katie Zelem (Manchester United)
Forwards: Rachel Daly (Aston Villa), Bethany England (Tottenham Hotspur), Lauren Hemp (Manchester City), Lauren James (Chelsea), Chloe Kelly (Manchester City), Kathy Robinson (Brighton & Hove Albion), Alessia Russo (Manchester United)
England faces the group's biggest danger in Denmark. Support them to keep winning with these Women's World Cup free bets.
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