Data drop: Everything you need to know ahead of England vs Haiti

England are ready to kick off their World Cup campaign in Australia and New Zealand.

The Lionesses come into the tournament as one of the favourites off the back of their European Championship triumph last summer.

Debutants Haiti, however, will be hoping to cause an upset when they meet Sarina Wiegman’s team in their opening fixture.

We used the Twenty3 Toolbox to pick out everything you need to know ahead of the clash at the Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, Australia.

Lionesses on the hunt

England were a goalscoring force in qualifying, netting a whopping 80 times in their 10 fixtures.

They topped almost every attacking category, including shots (330), non-penalty shots on target (152) and key passes completed (144).

However, they failed to find the back of the net in each of their last two warm-up games and will be keen to get off to a fast start against Haiti.

Lauren Hemp could prove key to the Lionesses’ chances of recovering their attacking rhythm.

No team made more progressive runs in qualifying than England’s 210, with Hemp making 29 of those and taking on the role of chief ball-carrier.

The Manchester City winger was also her country’s key creator – no player in qualifying managed more assists than her 10.

Which striker for Wiegman?

Rachel Daly and Alessia Russo are the most likely candidates to lead the Lionesses’ attack after their strong seasons in the Women’s Super League.

The former led the competition’s scoring charts with 22 goals for Aston Villa, while Russo netted 10 times.

Daly is a old-school penalty-box striker – strong aerially, composed and quick to react in the area. She scored all three of her penalties, took 71 shots and registered 22 non-penalty efforts on target.

At Manchester United, Russo roamed more into wide areas, completing 48 of her 91 dribbles and connecting with 18 crosses.

Whoever Wiegman chooses will hope to get England off the mark quickly — though Haiti will do their utmost to keep the centre-forwards quiet.

Haiti intend to hit back

Haiti primarily looked to hit their opponents on the break in the CONCACAF W Championship.

Only Canada completed more through-balls than their 19, an approach which helped them register nine goals in their four outings.

They also ranked second for successful intelligent passes (14) as they looked to unlock defences.

Haiti also relied on individual brilliance on the ball to drive them up the field rather than combination play, completing 69 of their 116 dribbles.

In front of goal, they were clinical, overperforming their expected goals by more than three (nine goals from 5.68 xG).

Melchie Dumornay, 19, was at the heart of their success, registering a goal and an assist while winning the joint-most attacking duels (30) – on par with USA star Sophia Smith.

Dumornay boasts intelligent movement into space, quick feet and an ability to test the goalkeeper from a variety of angles.

She completed the second-most dribbles in the competition (17), registered a team-high 13 shots and completed all three of her key passes.

Haiti will hope she can conjure up some more explosive play against England.

England aim to control

In qualification, England dominated games in possession, an approach that is unlikely to change for this fixture.

They successfully completed more passes than any other team in European qualifying (5,982), with a 88.05% accuracy – evidence of their controlled, patient approach to build-up play.

Their command of possession can, in large part, be credited to the quality of central midfield general Keira Walsh, who dictates the tempo of matches.

England’s No4 completed 584 passes with a 92.41% accuracy while also successfully completing 33 long passes and six of her 11 through-balls.

As a result, the Lionesses were able to limit their opponents to great effect, not conceding once in qualifying – they will be keen to do the same against Haiti.

Haiti’s high press

Defensively, Haiti work hard to win the ball back quickly.

In their World Cup qualification campaign, they completed 124 ball recoveries in the opposition half – a total bettered only by the USA, Canada and Costa Rica.

Central midfielder Jennifer Limage, 25, led the team in that department with 48 while also registering 24 interceptions and winning six of her 10 loose ball duels.

However, England’s confidence under pressure makes them a difficult opponent to catch out.

They only recorded eight dangerous ball losses in their 10 qualifying matches and should Haiti press high and fail to win the ball, they could get caught out.

Haiti could hardly have asked for a tougher opponent to mark their World Cup debut – but if England do not take them seriously, the Lionesses could be in for an uncomfortable surprise.

All visualisations in this article were produced with the Twenty3 Toolbox. For more information, please get in touch below.