USA & England begin campaigns - day three preview

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World champions USA, Euro 2022 winners England and Asian Cup holders China all begin their World Cup campaigns on Saturday.

Who will finish day three at the top of Group D with Sarina Wiegman's Lionesses playing debutants Haiti before Denmark faces China?

The United States and Vietnam kick off the first Group E game and 2011 World Cup winners Japan take on Zambia with the hope of replacing Spain at the top of Group C.

USA v Vietnam

Group E | Auckland | 02:00 BST

Women's World Cup: Meet the US players aiming for history

The United States are back on the world stage as they start their title defence and bid for a third consecutive World Cup trophy against Vietnam in Auckland.

Four years ago, the USA thrashed Thailand 13-0 in their opening World Cup game and they are expected to get a straightforward win against Vietnam.

However, the Golden Star Warriors have been described as a "wildcard" by US forward Lynn Williams, while US manager Vlatko Andonovski said it was "the best Vietnam team that has ever been on the field".

"We have a very tough opponent ahead of us," Andonovski added.

"We're certainly going to come out with a team that will give us the best chance to win every game."

Rachel Brown-Finnis' prediction: Realistically, there is only going to be one winner here, and it is just a case of how many goals the USA will get. 3-0.

Key stat: This is the first encounter between the USA and Vietnam, and the USA have never lost in the 15 World Cup games they've played against teams from Asia.

Zambia v Japan

Group C | Hamilton | 08:00 BST | BBC

Zambia may be making their World Cup debut and ranked as the tournament's lowest team, but recent results show they are a side to not be underestimated.

The Copper Queens defeated Germany, the second ranked team in the world, 3-2 in a warm-up match earlier this month, and held Switzerland to a draw a couple of weeks earlier.

"As far as I'm concerned, we cannot consider ourselves as underdogs," Zambia manager Bruce Mwape said.

"We regard ourselves as an epic team that can challenge any other team in the world."

Meanwhile, Japan boss Futoshi Ikeda says the game against Zambia is a must-win fixture to get their tournament off to a positive start in the hope of repeating their 2011 success.

"This is a tournament so we have to win one game after the other. That's important. We want to get off on the right foot so we have to win," he added.

Rachel Brown-Finnis' prediction: This should be a really good game, between two teams with such different playing styles, and I am going to go for a high-scoring draw. 2-2

Key stat: Zambia will become the first landlocked African country to play at a men's or women's World Cup.

England v Haiti

Group D | Brisbane | 10:30 BST | ITV

Women's World Cup 2023: Journalists analyse England's strengths & weaknesses

European champions England are fourth in the world ranking, 49 places better off than Haiti, who will be playing in their first ever Women's World Cup match.

Haiti manager Nicolas Delepine said: "It's going to be a difficult game, for sure. If I have to talk about the strengths of England, I'll be here all day.

"In big competitions England are tough opponents. They played well in the European Championship.

"We're expecting a high intensity game. They are a difficult team to play against, they are attacking with threats everywhere."

Despite being strong favourites to win the game, England boss Sarina Wiegman said they would not be underestimating their opponents.

"The pressure is always something, everyone expects England to win anyway, so that's not different," said Wiegman.

"What we're trying to do is play our game and focus on what we have to do and how we can win."

Rachel Brown-Finnis' prediction: England should get the job done and beat a Haiti team playing at their first World Cup, but it might not be an especially convincing performance. I just hope it gives England some confidence to take forward for their games to come. 2-0.

Key stat: This will be the first ever encounter between England and Haiti, who are making their debut appearance at the Women's World Cup.

Denmark v China

Group D | Perth | 13:00 BST | BBC

Denmark are back in the World Cup for the first time since 2007 and cruised through qualifying, winning all eight matches, scoring 40 times and only conceding twice.

Their squad includes seven players from the Women's Super League - Everton quartet Katrine Veje, Rikke Sevecke, Nicoline Sorensen and Karen Holmgaard, Reading's Sanne Troelsgaard, West Ham's Emma Snerle and Arsenal's Kathrine Kuhl.

They are captained by forward Pernille Harder, who won the WSL title three times with Chelsea before moving to Bayern Munich earlier this summer.

China have qualified for the World Cup on eight of the nine occasions it has been held, finishing as runners-up in 1999 after losing to the United States in the final.

Last year China won the Asian Cup and their squad for 2023 includes uncapped Celtic midfielder Shen Mengyu.

Denmark play England on Friday, 28 July with China facing the Lionesses in their last group match on 1 August.

Rachel Brown-Finnis' prediction: China are only one place below Denmark, who are 13th, in the world rankings so they are pretty equal. I just think the Danes will have more attacking spark. 2-0.

Key stat: Denmark have faced China more than any other team at the Women's World Cup, but they are yet to win against the Asian side.

World champions the USA, Euro 2022 winners England and Asian Cup holders China all begin their World Cup campaigns on Saturday.

Who will finish day three at the top of Group D, with Sarina Wiegman's Lionesses playing debutants Haiti before Denmark face China?

The United States and Vietnam kick off the first Group E game, and 2011 World Cup winners Japan take on Zambia with the hope of replacing Spain at the top of Group C.

USA v Vietnam

Group E | Auckland | 02:00 BST | BBC

Women's World Cup: Meet the US players aiming for history

The United States are back on the world stage as they start their title defence and bid for a third consecutive World Cup trophy against Vietnam in Auckland.

Four years ago, the USA thrashed Thailand 13-0 in their opening World Cup game and they are expected to get a straightforward win against Vietnam.

However, the Golden Star Warriors have been described as a "wildcard" by US forward Lynn Williams, while Vlatko Andonovski said it was "the best Vietnam team that has ever been on the field".

"We have a very tough opponent ahead of us," US manager Andonovski added.

"We're certainly going to come out with a team that will give us the best chance to win every game."

Rachel Brown-Finnis' prediction: Realistically, there is only going to be one winner here, and it is just a case of how many goals the USA will get. 3-0.

Key stat: This is the first encounter between the USA and Vietnam, and the USA have never lost in the 15 World Cup games they've played against teams from Asia.

Zambia v Japan

Group C | Hamilton | 08:00 BST | BBC

Zambia may be making their World Cup debut and ranked as the tournament's lowest team, but recent results show they are a side to not be underestimated.

The Copper Queens defeated Germany, the second-ranked team in the world, 3-2 in a warm-up match earlier this month, and held Switzerland to a draw a couple of weeks earlier.

"As far as I'm concerned, we cannot consider ourselves as underdogs," Zambia manager Bruce Mwape said.

"We regard ourselves as an epic team that can challenge any other team in the world."

Meanwhile, Japan boss Futoshi Ikeda says the game against Zambia is a must-win fixture to get their tournament off to a positive start in the hope of repeating their 2011 success.

"This is a tournament, so we have to win one game after the other. That's important. We want to get off on the right foot so we have to win," he said.

Rachel Brown-Finnis' prediction: This should be a really good game, between two teams with such different playing styles, and I am going to go for a high-scoring draw. 2-2

Key stat: Zambia will become the first landlocked African country to play at a men's or women's World Cup.

England v Haiti

Group D | Brisbane | 10:30 BST | ITV

Women's World Cup 2023: Journalists analyse England's strengths & weaknesses

European champions England are fourth in the world ranking, 49 places better off than Haiti, who will be playing in their first-ever Women's World Cup match.

Haiti manager Nicolas Delepine said: "It's going to be a difficult game, for sure. If I have to talk about the strengths of England, I'll be here all day.

"In big competitions England are tough opponents. They played well in the European Championship.

"We're expecting a high-intensity game. They are a difficult team to play against, they are attacking with threats everywhere."

Despite being strong favourites to win the game, England boss Sarina Wiegman said they would not be underestimating their opponents.

"The pressure is always something, everyone expects England to win anyway, so that's not different," said Wiegman.

"What we're trying to do is play our game and focus on what we have to do and how we can win."

Rachel Brown-Finnis' prediction: England should get the job done and beat a Haiti team playing at their first World Cup, but it might not be an especially convincing performance. I just hope it gives England some confidence to take forward for their games to come. 2-0.

Key stat: This will be the first ever encounter between England and Haiti, who are making their debut appearance at the Women's World Cup.

Denmark v China

Group D | Perth | 13:00 BST | BBC

Denmark are back in the World Cup for the first time since 2007 and cruised through qualifying, winning all eight matches, scoring 40 times and only conceding twice.

Their squad includes seven players from the Women's Super League - Everton quartet Katrine Veje, Rikke Sevecke, Nicoline Sorensen and Karen Holmgaard, Reading's Sanne Troelsgaard, West Ham's Emma Snerle and Arsenal's Kathrine Kuhl.

They are captained by forward Pernille Harder, who won the WSL title three times with Chelsea before moving to Bayern Munich earlier this summer.

China have qualified for the World Cup on eight of the nine occasions it has been held, finishing as runners-up in 1999 after losing to the United States in the final.

Last year, China won the Asian Cup and their squad for 2023 includes uncapped Celtic midfielder Shen Mengyu.

Denmark play England on Friday, 28 July with China facing the Lionesses in their last group match on 1 August.

Rachel Brown-Finnis' prediction: China are only one place below Denmark, who are 13th, in the world rankings so they are pretty equal. I just think the Danes will have more attacking spark. 2-0.

Key stat: Denmark have faced China more than any other team at the Women's World Cup, but they are yet to win against the Asian side.

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