England to face debutants Haiti in World Cup opener | OneFootball

England will face tournament debutants Haiti in their opening match at the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia and New Zealand 2023.

The Lionesses were made to wait to learn of their first opponents at this summer’s tournament with Sarina Wiegman’s side being drawn against the Group B intercontinental play-off winner. They knew that their opponents would come from Senegal, Haiti or Chile.

The intercontinental play-offs got underway last week with Haiti defeating Senegal 4-0 in their semi-final tie to set up a final against Chile. The final took place in Auckland, New Zealand, in the early hours of this morning with Haiti recording a 2-1 win thanks to goals from highly-rated Reims midfielder Melchie Dumornay.

Haiti are currently ranked 55th in the world and the nation have never qualified for a major tournament before. Their biggest honour to date was winning the CFU Women’s Caribbean Cup back in 2000. Their Under-20’s side did feature at the FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup France 2018, exiting the tournament at the end of the group stage. Haiti will now prepare for one of the biggest tests of all; an opening match at the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia and New Zealand 2023 against European champions England.

England’s opening match of the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia and New Zealand 2023 against Haiti will take place at Lang Park in Brisbane on 22 July 2023.