By Philip O’Connor
(Reuters) – A late goal by Amalie Vangsgaard gave Denmark a 1-0 win over China but the Scandinavians know they will have to be a lot more polished when they meet reigning European champions England in their next World Cup Group D game on Friday.
Substitute Vangsgaard entered the fray in the 85th minute and headed home Pernille Harder’s corner five minutes later to secure the win, and Harder said that there was plenty her team could be proud of, despite the performance.
“We didn’t give up, despite a not-so-good start, and we came out with new energy in the second half and pressed on,” Harder told broadcaster DR.
“We showed that we can score in the final minutes, that we can keep a clean sheet and get three points, so these are surely things we can take with us,” the playmaker added.
Denmark and England are both on three points with one goal scored and none conceded, with China and World Cup debutants Haiti in third and fourth places respectively.
They may have secured the win against China, but the Danish performance in the first half looked flat and it took a change in formation and a late goal to get them over the line, leading to some disquiet among fans and pundits.
“I think that the criticism is fair, but at the same time you have to remember that England will be a different kind of opponent, and there are definitely elements that we can bring with us from the China game,” midfielder Josefine Hasbo said.
“Hopefully we can go in and take responsibility, be better with the ball and do some of the things we are actually good at,” she added.
The Danes meet England at the Sydney Football Stadium on Friday before taking on the Haitians in their final group game in Perth on Aug. 1.
(Reporting by Philip O’Connor; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
