China v Haiti
A paramount match in Group D saw China take the three points over Haiti in a narrow win for Shiu Qingxia’s side. Following their respective defeats against England and Denmark, China and Haiti both had their eyes on winning to continue their World Cup journey. Despite having only ten women on the pitch, China found the net in the 74th minute through a carefully placed penalty by Wang Shuang.
Tournament debutants Haiti were unfortunate to not equalise with the Chinese side, having two VAR checks in the 77th minute and 93rd minute. In the dying minutes of the match, Haiti had opportunities on goal twice through Nerilia Mondesir alongside two corner set pieces, yet China denied a historical first goal for Nicolas Delepine’s Haiti.
Tactical Analysis: China
China’s formation remained the same as their opening game against Denmark, opting for the familiar 4-4-2 formation which they have adopted as a key part of their tactical gameplay. This formation allows China to be strong in attack, making use of Li Mengwen’s ability at fullback to overlap the players on the wing and deliver crosses from the channel.
Qingxia made two changes to her starting line up, favouring the experienced Zhu Yu between the posts over Xu Huan who was the selected goalkeeper in their 2-0 defeat against Denmark. This change could be due to the key role she played in China’s 2022 AFC Women’s Asian Cup win. Despite not making an appearance in their opening game, Yao Lingwei was brought into the starting line up in place of Xin Zhang.
China had an early break in the first half, unable to find their way past a strong Haitian defence. On attack, China failed to break the opposing defence wall, often having the attacking player isolated in advance. This may have been due to their defensive presence, defending the Haitian attack with at least five players in the box. A key component to China’s attack was the usage of wide areas, further amplified by their fullback players, avoiding the heavily dominated Haiti central area.
In the 29th minute China had to readjust their starting tactics, which had proved to pose a threat to Haiti, following a red card for right midfielder Zhang Riu following a VAR decision on her tackle against Dayana Pierre-Louis. Now down to ten women, China resorted to a 4-4-1 formation. This led to a first half substitution in the 37th minute of Xin Zhang to slot into midfield, replacing attacking player Lou Jiahui.
An adjustment to ten players evidently weakened the Chinese goalscoring movements, with the ball often reaching the box too early through an isolated player who mostly had few options to advance the movement. Depending on the movement of the ball, the right or left midfield player would join the attacking line to apply pressure on Haiti’s defence. The halftime substitution of Wang Shuang for Wu Chengshu inspired new motivation within China who slowly but surely built up their attacking movements, leading to their awarded penalty and domination following this, where they could have found the net once again through corner set pieces.
Key Players: China
- Wang Shuang
A halftime substitution saw China’s number seven comfortably enter the pitch. Playing a key role in the China attack, she posed a threat to Haiti’s defence and tried to find the net on multiple occasions. She stepped up to take their game winning penalty and did not fall victim to the pressure, precisely finding the bottom left corner of the goal.
- Yang Lina
Midfielder Yang Lina played a key role in attacking movements. Up against a Haiti dominated central area she made great runs forward, used her wide players and areas in attempts to break and tested the goalkeeper.
- Zhu Yu
Goalkeeper Zhu Yu was dominant in her goal area and comfortable in handling and distributing the ball. She showed confidence facing Haiti set pieces and saved a shot, pushing it over the bar to keep China level with Haiti to allow them to later run away with the 1-0 victory.
Tactical Analysis: Haiti
Similar to China, Haiti opted for the same formation as their opening match, lining up in a 4-2-3-1 formation. Three changes saw star player Melchie Dumornay replaced by Sherly Jeudy in the central attacking midfielder position due to injury concerns. Ruthny Mathurin replaced Jennyfer Limage in the defensive line, who unfortunately suffered an ACL injury in their Round One match against England. Maudeline Moryl stepped into defensive midfield, filling the position previously filled by Sherly Jeudy.
Haiti had a strong physical presence on the pitch, often overloading the central areas with five or more players which forced China to play in wide areas. They had little possession in comparison to China, however were quick to clear any threat posed by China with their strength and physicality.
They kept a solid formation, causing difficulty to China who were unable to break through on goal. However, on attack Haiti lost the ball multiple times due to finding one player surrounded by three Chinese players.
Their strong presence on the pitch proved to be successful with Haiti finding the net in the 41st minute through Nerilia Modesir, which was ruled offside. They often tested the keeper free kick set pieces, and overloaded the keeper in corner kicks.
A halftime substitution saw Melchie Dumornay join the Haitian line up for Maudeline Moryl. Her presence was crucial for Haiti, creating more attacking movements in the second half and trying their luck on goal, often through Nerilia Mondesir. However, Haiti were unable to find a goal against China, with their shots often deflected or placed wide of the net.
Key Players: Haiti
- Roselord Borgella
Borgella proved to be a key player in Haiti’s attacking movements, often being involved in the movement and trying to find a carefully placed ball to assist her teammates. Her quick feet allowed her to send China players in the opposite direction and create space for her to find a cross into the box.
- Melchie Dumornay
Despite not starting the match, Dumornay was an important part of Haiti’s gameplay. She tried to find the net on multiple occasions and was involved in as many attacking movements as she possibly could. Undoubtedly, her halftime substitution inspired new movements within Haiti.
- Nerilia Mondesir
Captain Nerilia Mondesir had great movement throughout the match, attempting to turn around multiple China players to find the net in the box. She made herself hard to defend against, and tried to test the keeper on multiple occasions. Her presence in attack posed a threat to the Chinese defensive line.