Should England be worried after rusty opening World Cup performance?

England's opening game of the 2023 World Cup should have been a landslide win against debutants Haiti, yet it seems Sarina Wiegman may need to go back to the drawing board if they are to progress in the tournament.

Their 2022 Euros triumph began with a narrow, shaky 1-0 win over Austria, and it seemed history would repeat itself as England's opening match against Haiti felt all too familiar, ending in a 1-0 win after a handball penalty.

The Lionesses lacked creativity to kick off their World Cup campaign, being unable to find Plan B when Plan A stopped working. Running rampant, the wrath of Haiti's Melchie Dumornay overpowered the Lionesses, consistently piling pressure on an incredibly shaky defence.

England's only goal came from a penalty from Georgia Stanway, marking a fourth consecutive game for the Lionesses without scoring from open play. The last goal came off the boot of Ella Toone during the Finalissima against Brazil back in April.

Opting to play Alessia Russo as the number nine forced Rachel Daly to the bench - a decision Weigman may grow to regret as England failed to capitalise on any chances, break through a tough defensive line or even look remotely threatening moving forward.

Speaking after the match, winger Chloe Kelly, who played every minute of the opening game, reflected: "I think it's the first game of the tournament, of course, is gonna be a bit of a slow start, but we come away from it with three points.

"I think that's the important thing moving forward into the next game, we take on board what we can and learn from that performance and we move forward and start again."

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It was evident in an early slip from England that Haiti would throw everything at every chance that came their way, being very aware they would likely play most of the game without possession. Haiti took full advantage of a rare mistake, giving an indication of the lack of fear the debutants would play with throughout their maiden World Cup game.

Durmonay had stuck to Keira Walsh like glue, marking her incredibly closely, which removed the Barcelona star from much of the opening minutes of the game and made England's passage through to the final third uncomfortable.

13 minutes down and Haiti looked like they were in for the opener as England's nervy inability to control the ball allowed Dumornay to charge towards goal; the shot eventually being sent wide of Mary Earps' goal.

Kelly spoke of Haiti's performance after the match, praising the side's quality. "I think we have to give Haiti credit; they are a great side. I think they put up a good front in defending and on the attack. They were tough, and I think going into the first game, we want to come away with a win, and we've got the three points, and we move forward from here."

In what has developed into a World Cup of penalties, this game was no different. Within ten minutes, the referee had three VAR checks, resulting in an array of emotions from the 44,369 fans in attendance.

Haiti's spark was quickly overshadowed after a scramble in the box saw Alessia Russo foul a defender, overruling a possible penalty shout on Chloe Kelly. Yet, the foul momentarily before had halted play, resulting in a booking for Dayana Pierre-Louis for reckless play after the whistle blew.

Moments later, a Haiti handball saw a penalty awarded to England. Bayern Munich midfielder Stanway stepped up to take the spot kick yet was denied by Haitian keeper Kerly Theus in a dramatic turn of events. Theus was embraced by her teammates after the save, but the celebrations were cut short when the stopper was seen to have left her line too early.

Stanway had to face the mighty challenge of a second penalty just seconds after the first, but this time, the 24-year-old made no mistake, firing the ball into the back of the net.

With half-time dawning on the Lionesses, a robust Haiti would widen cracks in their shaky back line. Taking every chance they got, Haiti exposed the lack of solidarity in the England defence which was epitomised by the rustiness of usual rock Millie Bright, whose return from a lengthy injury layoff was littered with nerves and mistakes.

While Walsh was locked down, Toone struggled to get involved in the game. Following a disappointing WSL season, one of the questions facing Wiegman ahead of the tournament was whether the Manchester United star was ready for a starting spot or better suited to the super-sub role which yielded such devastating performances at the Euros.

After the first-half performance, doubts will only have grown, with Toone's impact greatly reduced compared to 12 months ago.

The second half started no better for England as the best chance of the night fell to Haiti, forcing a massive save from Earps as the once-striking Lionesses had turned into shaky cubs. A lack of communication and fluidity across the newly formed starting lineup meant England's advances into the final third looked anything but threatening.

England's woes could not be put on one singular player. Before the tournament, Wiegman had multiple chances to explore different tactics in an attempt to navigate a crippling injury crisis, but the boss' decision to stick to one formula ultimately backfired as England were left grasping at straws on the biggest stage.

Being caught out of formation, the nerves seemed to grow for England as Haiti continued to fly forward at every possible opportunity, quietening the crowd as each venture forward seemed destined to threaten England's singular goal lead.

It felt as if a lot of the England forwards were trying to play hero ball, preferring speculative shots on goal over passes to open teammates in better positions.

Haiti nearly snatched the point their outstanding performance deserved late on, but England number one Earps had other ideas as she pulled out a sensational save to protect her side's fragile advantage.

The crowd, trying to rally England, flooded Suncorp Stadium with chants in favour of the victors who, just 12 months after beating Germany in front of 90,000 fans at Wembley, limped to three points in their opening match of the tournament.

One big takeaway from the game for Wiegman will be the need to consider an alternative lineup. Toone's underwhelming performance in the number 10 role needs addressing, while there is a big call to make at striker after Russo failed to make the most of her opportunity to start ahead of Daly.

In her post-match comments, Kelly chose to remain positive.

"I think we believe," she continued. "We create chances and we know that we believe that we can get on the end of them and score them. So I think it's about trusting the process and moving forward."

It seems this game posed even more questions for the England boss than it answered. But one big question remains for the Lionesses ahead of their matchup with Denmark next week - where will the goals come from?