Lionesses

[Fan of Big Tone]

Anyone following the Lionesses World Cup campaign?

They are playing Haiti this morning kick off 10.30am on ITV.

[KB1862]

I will be following the Lionesses. Due to work and the times the games start, I can't catch many games but will be able to catch today's game against Haiti and the game against China. The Denmark game I'll probably just listen to on the radio at work. 

Will also try and catch some of the other games. Currently got the Zambia v Japan game on. 

[super_ram]

Yes just ended.Difficult game against Haiti but 1- 0 Lionesses victory thanks to a twice taken , VAR awarded, penalty.

[liampie]

not so far, but i will. i did not realise it was a kick off time before 12pm. it will make it hard to watch due to work, but i can check on the scores.

[CliftonMagpie]

I haven’t watched it and I most likely won’t. I don’t find it particularly interesting. I don’t watch much football outside of Notts, so it’s not entirely due to the standard of the women’s game, but more because of time constraints and other priorities. I hope England does well, but I doubt I’ll watch many games.

[allardyces tash]

I have caught the highlights of some of the games so far, but no full matches. I want to try to catch a few of England’s games. From what I have seen so far, I think it has been a bit subpar. England were lucky to get the VAR decision and then the retaken penalty, as without the technology it might have ended differently.

[KB1862]

Today's game against Haiti, I felt, was very entertaining. 

I'll admit that, just like I think many people did, I underestimated how tough this game was going to be. Me and a mate of mine were talking predictions before the game. I had England down for 8-0, he had them down for 6. How wrong we were.

Although I did send a messaged straight after he replied his prediction with "watch it end 1-0 or something low". So in a way I was technically right

I think it's clear to see that the Lionesses are missing a few key players in this squad as they pointed out many times on commentary. 

It was a combination of 2 things. That being Haiti were tougher than anticipated and England not really performing as good as they probably should be. But I'll give Haiti credit, they were faster and stronger than England. Had it not been for Mary Earps, England might have lost. 

In the end, the Lionesses, just about, got the job done. Onwards and upwards. 

[liampie]

haiti had some good chances but their finishing was dire, there was two moments a better team would have punished england. all the effort to split the defence and a very weak shot at the end. it was not the best of games though.

[Fan of Big Tone]

I recorded the match and managed to avoid the result so I sort of watched it live, I thought it was a good game and but for some poor finishing it could have been quite high scoring. Both teams had good chances and the goalkeepers did well.

[super_ram]

Haiti were very physical and England were well below par.The game seemed more like a preseason friendly.I hope all involved with England have learnt a lesson. All aspects need to be improved on.I think we'll see a different England Next game.

[thommo]

 should probably watch a few of the World Cup games, but I haven’t so far. With all the hype surrounding the England ladies, I fully expect them to crash out. They did amazingly well in the Euros, and it was great to see the nation get behind them. However, some of the female pundits have been overly biased towards England. If Rio Ferdinand said he believed England would win the World Cup, the press would dissect his opinion, but we have to accept this? It’s just a bit over-the-top and frustrating.

[Fozzy]

Not watched any of it to be honest and didn’t even know we had played until I saw this thread. I might watch a bit of the final if we get to it but I just can’t get on with the women’s game. Yes, it has improved a lot in recent years but it’s just not for me. 

I hope we do well, as I do with all England sides in all sports.

[Chris]

I watched for about 20 minutes, saw the penalty and then turned over. It wasn't a great performance from what I saw from England, they played some pretty football going forward. However, where it mattered, you could tell we are lacking an Ellen White type striker. My retention of football games is quite focused on how teams play, when I see disconnected play and lacking on goal. It just frustrates me, it's nothing to do with the womens game itself.

I find it happens a lot with Spanish football and South American.

 

[Fan of Big Tone]

I started to watch the France v Jamaica game which I’d recorded but I fell asleep it was 0-0 when I dozed off and obviously wasn’t holding my attention. 

[Chris]

@Fan of Big Tone, totally unrelated to the game and how good it was of course. It's just a coincidence that they drew.  I am kidding, it's been a sleepy afternoon here.

[Nocturnal-Magpie]

There’s not a single chance I could catch a game even if I wanted to. After I finish work, I sleep straight until I wake up for food and then repeat. It’s a very slim chance that I will see a game, so highlights make do for me, but I wish the England women’s team all the best.

[AmericanPie]

I can’t watch the games because it’s a bit awkward with the time zone and other things. I have been watching the highlights, but I can’t say I have been impressed so far. However, it’s still early days.

[TheSkipper]

I watched the England game against Denmark too, where Lauren James scored a fantastic goal. She’s a good player and plays similarly to her brother Reece. However, I do agree that the commentary can sometimes be over the top and everything is exaggerated. A simple tackle is described as the most amazing challenge.

[Fan of Big Tone]

2 hours ago, TheSkipper said:

I watched the England game against Denmark too, where Lauren James scored a fantastic goal. She’s a good player and plays similarly to her brother Reece. However, I do agree that the commentary can sometimes be over the top and everything is exaggerated. A simple tackle is described as the most amazing challenge.

For some reason I thought the match was tonight.  Consequently I missed it but I managed to watch the highlights I agree @TheSkipper the Lauren James goal was a brilliant strike.

[liampie]

it was a good goal, but the quality since ellen white has retired is obvious, its hard to see where the goals will come from. i think the manager sets the players up to play well enough, but there is not enough in front of the opposition goal.

[DangerousSausage]

England v China tomorrow, a draw will be enough to win the group and play (I think) Nigeria in the next round. I haven't seen any games yet, but I'll play it on my second screen tomorrow

[Joshua]

Tomorrow, England ladies take on China. A win means the group is won. I am hoping to catch it, but if it’s boring, I will turn over. I can’t stand games where the action isn’t lively. I used to watch the Champions League games on normal TV when I was younger, but stopped when most were dull. I haven’t watched them for a while either.

[DangerousSausage]

I'm just watching the England match now, they scored an absolutely belting goal that would have graced any game. World class finish. Then the ref disallowed it.

Our number 2 Bronze was clearly offside when the cross was made. An England player then headed it back, at which point Bronze was clearly onside again. Bronze then intervened in play, winning the loose ball and passing to the "goalscorer". The ref disallowed it. 

I don't doubt that this was the right decision by the letter of the law, the situation was clear and obviously the ref knows the rules better than I do. But I find this part of the offside rule perplexing - when she first touched the ball, Bronze was behind several other England players and had in no way gained an advantage from having been in an offside position several seconds before. 

But whatever, we're winning. 

[KB1862]

The Lionesses were absolutely fantastic against China today. Thought it would have been a tougher game than it proved to be tbf but they got the job done emphatically moving onto the knockouts. 

Sarina Wiegman got everything right with her selection today as highlighted by the commentators on numerous occasions. 

Millie Bright was superb at the back and played a key role in the opening 2 goals by making vital interceptions that led to the 2 goals. 

Lauren James deserves so much praise. She never shy'd away from the ball and when she had the ball, she had the confidence to take on anyone that stood in her way. She deserved a hat trick and can feel so unfortunate not to have had one. All 3 efforts that hit the back of the net were outstanding strikes especially the one that made it 4 (second time round ) terrific first time volley. Hope she continues to start. 

Have to feel sorry for Lucy Bronze though. First she was deemed offside which led to James' strike being ruled out. I think the referee made an error there. Yes, she was in an offside position at first but she didn't have any involvement then another player touched it (I'm sure it was a Chinese defender) that's when she got involved at the point she was in an offside position. Secondly, the penalty she gave away. By the letter of the law yes it's deemed handball but in all fairness she was pushed by Earps into the ball. Can take the penalty being given but I don't think it warranted a yellow card. 

But, where was VAR when Russo had her hair pulled back? Seen it in the Premier League of hair pulling, it prevented Russo from challenging for the ball. 

I was glad to see Russo get on the score sheet, I think that's going to do her a world of good going forward in the tournament and hopefully she gets a few more. 

Overall, it was a very comfortable game of football for the Lionesses and I think this is a winning formula that Wiegman laid out today. 

[Fan of Big Tone]

Aaarrrgghh!! I forgot it was on and missed it, I keep forgetting they are on during the day, I don’t watch daytime telly so I didn’t see it. I saw the goals on the news, what a great win.