England vs. Haiti: Top Storylines, Odds, Live Stream for Women's World Cup 2023
England returns to the World Cup stage Saturday, a big favorite over opponent Haiti and one of the handful of teams with a realistic shot of winning the entire tournament.
The Lionesses have talent, leadership and one of the best players in the entire field in Keira Walsh and will look to kick their 2023 World Cup run off with a win.
Haiti is on this stage for the first time but is fueled by pride, energy and a young scorer poised for a breakout.
Dive deeper into both teams with this preview of Saturday's match, including current odds, as well as when and how to catch the action.
Current Odds
England (-20000; bet $100 and win $100.50)
Draw (+2500; bet $100 and win $2600)
Haiti (+5500; bet $100 and win $5600)
Schedule and Viewing Info
Date: Saturday, July 22
Time: 5:30 a.m.
TV: Fox Sports 1
Streaming: Fox Sports app
England is among the early favorites to win the 2023 Women's World Cup and center midfielder Keira Walsh is a big reason why.
Arguably the best at her position in the world, she sets the tone for the Lionesses. As she goes, the team goes. Given her on-field intelligence and superb passing ability, that bodes well for a team hoping to win the country's first Cup since 1966.
Former Manchester City manager Nick Cushing described his former player as, "the most tactically intelligent player I've worked with."
The budding star will have a global stage on which to demonstrate why her coaches and teammates think so highly of her and will need to be at her best to achieve England's goal of capturing the top prize in international play.
Not only is Group D stacked, with the very good China and Denmark teams and Haitian squad with nothing to lose, but potentially awaiting them in the knockout round are Canada and host country Australia, both of whom are tough draws.
Other tournament favorites, Germany and France, could await in the semifinals or finals, should the Lionesses make it that far.
Luckily for Walsh, she will not have to go it alone.
Team captain and star defender Millie Bright will play despite concerns about her health following knee surgery and Katie Robinson is the future of the club. Ditto Lauren James, who has the very real potential to be the player most talked about on this year's team, an impressive feat at just 21 years old.
There are real concerns about depth with the team, though, as defender Leah Williamson, midfielder Fran Kirby and forward Beth Mead are slated to miss the tournament due to injury. Finding the right players to slot into their positions on the field and develop chemistry with the stars will ultimately determine how far England can go in its pursuit of the cup.
Haiti arrives on the World Cup stage amid low expectations but is one of the true feel-good stories of the entire tournament.
The country has weathered off-the-field controversies to advance to its first appearance in the tournament and, despite low likelihood of advancement to the knockout stage, there is still plenty to be excited about for Les Grenadières.
Corventina is a 19-year-old star in the making.
She does everything well but is an especially skilled goalscorer. An offensive weapon with international experience since age 15, she has the opportunity, and ability, to take the World Cup by storm and emerge as one of the most buzz-worthy players of the entire event.
Equally as capable of putting the ball in the net is Roselord Borgella,
The 30-year-old is a veteran of international play and has accumulated 20 goals. She provides both experience and leadership to a team that will need it against opposition that has been here, done this before.
An upset of England in their debut World Cup match is unlikely and should not be expected, but that does not mean Haiti cannot experience its own success in this maiden outing. Respectable performances against the world's best, gritty play and scoring from its many young weapons should be more than enough to be proud of.
With the aforementioned Corventina's budding stardom, and Dayana Pierre-Louis also poised to breakout in the near future, Les Grenadières are going to prove to be a hard out for more established teams for years to come.
