White brace leads England to comfortable victory

TWO goals by Ellen White saw England beat Japan 2-0 and secure top spot in their group at the women’s World Cup on Wednesday, but Scotland was eliminated from the tournament in dramatic, heartbreaking fashion.

England was already through to the last 16 before facing the former winner Japan in Nice, yet White’s double allowed them to clinch first place in Group D with a maximum nine points.

Georgia Stanway released White to slot home the opener in the 14th minute, and the same player wrapped up the win six minutes from time with a clinical firsttime finish from Karen Carney’s pass.

The result allowed England to gain a measure of revenge for their agonizing 2-1 defeat against the same opponent in the semifinal four years ago.

“We’ve got another clean sheet, we’ve won another game, we’ve played three and won three, and we’re just where we want to be, in the last 16, and ready to attack the business end of the tournament,” said the England coach Phil Neville.

His side was deserving winner despite Neville making eight changes following last Friday’s 1-0 win over Argentina, with White among the players returning.

“When you make more than five (changes) you suffer with the rhythm and the flow and I think we did that tonight,” he said.

“We knew at times we were going to suffer but I think it was a game we needed to have to keep us focused.”

England will now head to Valenciennes in northern France for a last-16 tie on Sunday against a third-placed side.

They will not know their opponent until this morning with China, Cameroon, New Zealand, Chile and even Thailand all potential oppositions.

Japan — World Cup winner in 2011 and runner-up in 2015 — will have a stiffer test in Rennes against either the Netherlands or Canada.

Asako Takakura’s youthful team finished the group phases with just one win, and another run to the final appears a long shot at this stage.

“I wanted to rest some of my players, so I rotated the squad. Now we need to come together and prepare for the next match,” coach Takakura said.

Scotland looked to be going through as one of the best third-placed sides when Erin Cuthbert’s 69th minute goal put them 3-0 up against Argentina at the Parc des Princes in Paris.

Scots ‘hard done by’

The goals, added to earlier strikes by Kim Little and Jen Beattie, seemed to have assured a first win at their debut World Cup, along with progress to the knockout phase, something the nation’s men’s team has never managed.

But Milagros Menendez replied with Argentina’s first goal of the tournament in the 74th minute and then Florencia Bonsegundo’s shot went in off goalkeeper Lee Alexander to set up a grandstand finale.

With two minutes left, after an agonizing VAR review, Argentina was handed a penalty.

Alexander saved Bonsegundo’s tame first effort, but VAR caught the goalkeeper straying off her line and the Argentine converted her second effort in the fourth minute of stoppage time.

The draw left Scotland on one point, bottom of Group D and eliminated.

“We gave it our all for 70 minutes of the game,” said Scotland’s disconsolate coach, Shelley Kerr.

“We were very good but we didn’t manage to see the game out, but at this moment in time we feel very hard done by.

“There were certainly a few decisions again that didn’t go our way.

“This is a World Cup and you need the officials to make the right calls.

“It is really bitterly disappointing.”

(AFP)