China (PR) vs Haiti at The FIFA Women's World Cup 2023 was a thrilling encounter till the very end where the Chinease team came out on top of the debutants and eliminated them from the group stages of the World Cup. China were down to 10 women in the first half but their resilience won them this game. Haiti were unlucky at times, specially in the last minutes of the game where they should've been awarded a penalty but it doesn't matter now as they're going out of the World Cups now.

Facts to look forward to :

• From seven global finals, China have never failed to make it out of the group stage. 
• China's defeat to Denmark means the nation have now lost their last three opening-day fixtures 1-0. At Canada 2015 and France 2019, they won the subsequent fixture by the same scoreline.
• Women's World Cup debutants Haiti have the youngest squad in the 2023 finals with an average age of 22.3 (at the start of the tournament). They had four teenagers in their starting XI in their opening match against England.
• Les Grenadieres are one of eight debutants at these global finals.

Match Information

Date : 28 July, 2023

Venue : Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide, Australia

Time : 9 pm Local Time and 4:30 pm IST

Officials

Referee : Marta Huerta

Assistant Referee 1: Guadalupe Porras

Assistant Referee 2 : Sanja Rodak

4th Official : Marianela Araya

VAR : Alejandro Hernandez

Assistant VAR 1 : Juan Martinez

Assistant VAR 2 : Mariana De Almeida

China PR vs Haiti | Live Score CHN 1-0 HAI

Kick off at 4:30 pm IST

First Half Begins!

China kicking from left to right in the first half and Haiti all in white, starts the game.

01'| Good start by China

Chinese players were venturing forward in the opening minutes of the game.

04'| China controlling the game

China's controlling the rythem of the match in the opening parts of the game and enjoying some possession.

06'| Corner conceded by Haiti

Haiti defender stopped the ball from troubling the goalkeeper and conceded a corner.

08'| Position start by China

Haiti's struggling to get out if their own half, such is the pressure by China.

13'| Good defending by Louis

Kethna Louis stopped the attack by a brilliant piece of composed defending.

15'| First attempt on target by China

Lou Jiahui's effort on target was stopped quite comparably by the goalkeeper as there was no power in the shot.

19'| Haiti enjoying some possession

Haiti after some minutes have been able to get hold of the ball and is enjoying a little spell.

20'| Poor back pass

Tabita Joseph's poor back pass could've been converted into a goal scoring opportunity but the goalkeeper was alert.

22'| Free kick conceded by Haiti

Zhang Linyan won a free kick in a dangerous position, just under range to give it a go.

28'| Yellow card for Rui(VAR)

Zhang Rui made a poor tackle on Sherly Jeudy and picked up a yellow card. But referee is taking a look if it was a red card offence.

29'| Red card for Rui

Yellow card evoked and Zhang Rui was provided with a straight red card for the nasty challenge on Jeudy, China down to 10 women.

35'| End to end football

Haiti is trying to take advantage of China's disability of playing with 10 players but there's no change in China's intensity to attack.

37'| Substitution for China

Zhang Xin replaces Lou Jiahui.

41'| Haiti on the attack

Haiti is enjoying a nice spell of attack of through nice passing football.

42'| Goal for Haiti but Offside

Nerilla Mondesir was caught Offside when Batcheba Louis played the ball and the goal didn't stand.

3 added minutes announced

45'| Half time CHN 0-0 HAI

The first half looked like a equally contested match with China dominated the early parts of the game and Haiti taking control of the match in the later parts. Both the teams had their chances but they were not very convincing.

China in the opening stages spent most of the time in Haiti's half but Haiti's defence looked solid and they dealt with every Chinease attack they faced. Most of China's play were initiated from the flanks but their cross were not at all troubling for Kethna Louis and Tabita Joseph.

Then came a moment which changed the momentum of the game in Haiti's favour. Zhang Rui was sent off by the referee for making a robust challenge on Sherly Jeudy. Initially it was given a yellow card but then VAR checked it for a possible Red, and referee changed her decision and gave the the Chinease midfielder a red Card.

From then onwards Haiti enjoyed most of the ball, with even scoring a goal from open play but it was doomed as Offside. It was an easy choice for the Assistant referee. Haiti looked more composed in the field but couldn't find a way through China's defence.

China did make a first half substitute, sacrificing the winger, Lou Jiahui presence for Zhang Xin in order to strengthen the defence. Batcheba Louis was easily one of the best players on the field today and there were moments of great skill showcasing from her side.

Second Half Begins

How's gonna come out on top, Chinease's 10 women or Haiti's ambitious players?

45'| Substitution for Haiti

Melchie Dumornay replaces Maudeline Moryl

45'| Substitution for China

Wang Shuang replaces Wu Chengshu.

47'| Good start by Haiti

Melchie Dumornay, the substitute is looking to orchestrate the match from the middle of the pitch.

52'| Save by Yu

Chinease goalkeeper, Zhu Yu pulled off a fine save off Melchie Dumornay's shot and kept China in the game, conceding a corner.

58'| End to end football

Both the teams are trying really hard to score the first goal of the match and break the deadlock.

60'| Array of attacks by Haiti

Haiti players are coming forward with sheer intent of scoring goals but China somehow survives and concedes a corner.

Nerilla Mondesir's right footed cross from right side of the field was stopped by the Chinese defender.

63'| Yellow card for Dumornay

Melchie Dumornay's acrobatic attemot of scoring a goal following a corner hit the a Chinease player m, unintentionally and was given a yellow card.

64'| Substitution for Haiti

Roseline Eloissaint replaces Batcheba Louis.

68'| Another chance for Haiti

Melchie Dumornay's attempt was blocked in front of the goal and it's still 0-0.

71'| Shout for penalty but Offside (VAR)

Zhang Linyan ventured forward and earned a penalty for her team but it was given Offside by the Assistant referee, VAR is checking though.

71'| Penalty for China

After VAR check it was given a penalty because Zhang Linyan was onside.

74'| Shuang scores from the spot kick!(CHN 1-0 HAI)

Wang Shuang scored the first goal of the match through a cool and composed penalty and China in the lead.

78'| Another chance for China

Zhang Linyan's header from very short range missed the target by some distance and the score stays 1-0 in China's favour.

81'| Substitution for Haiti

Chelsea Surpris replaces Ruthny Mathurin.

82'| Substitution for China

Dou Jiaxing replaces Yao Lingwei.

84'| China on the counter

Zhang Linyan's left footed shot was saved by the keeper as it was hit straight to her.

87'| Substitution for Haiti

Tang Jiali replaces Zhang Linyan.

89'| Substitution for Haiti

Kiki replaces Sherly Jeudy.

9 minutes of added time announced

90'+1| Penalty for Haiti(VAR)

Referee awarded Haiti a penalty in the additional minutes of the game, VAR is checking though.

90'+2| No penalty for Haiti

After VAR interference Penalty was revoked from Haiti by the referee and it looks like China is gonna win the match.

90'+6| Chance missed by Haiti

Nerillia Mondesir's right footed shot from a tight angle missed the target by not much.

90'+9| Very clumsy challenge by Jiaxing

Dou Jiaxing came up with a clumsy challenge to stop Haiti from scoring inside the penalty box in the last minutes of the game but no penalty was given and VAR has also not interfered.

Match Ended

90'| Full time CHN 1-0 HAI

The second half was full of drama specially in the last minutes of the game. Haiti saw most of the ball and had the better chances but it was China who came up victorious of the match with just one goal which came through a penalty.

Haiti dominated the game in the opening minutes of the second half. They clearly experienced the best spell of their match there but unfortunately couldn't break the deadlock at that time.

Zhu Yu made the best save of the match against Melchie Dumornay's powerful right footed strike and denied Haiti the lead. Melchie Dumornay was the driving force behind Haiti's attack and was gutted for not scoring.

Around 70th minute of the match China ventured forward in the opposition's box and Zhang Linyan was fouled inside the penalty box but the initial decision was offside so the penalty was not given. Then the VAR interfered and found out that it was not an offside so the penalty was awarded.

Wang Shuang took the penalty and scored it in a very composed manner, sending the keeper in the wrong direction and gave China the mist needed lead in the match. China played with 10 women for most of the match so it was paradise for them, and no one expected them to score against the run of play.

After that, no real chance was created by the Haitian players, they did go forward a couple of times but their attacks were not as convincing as they needed to be. Both the coaches made some important substitutions to control the game in their favour but it was mostly attack against defence in the last stages of the match.

After the additional time Dou Jiaxing made a very questionable challenge for winning the ball and fouled a Haitian forward in the process making no contact with the ball whatsoever, but VAR didn't even check it despite shouts from all of Haitian team and the game ended on 1-0 in China's favour.

USWNT Defender Naomi Girma has joined Chelsea Women for a world-record transfer fee for a female footballer. The Women's Super League leaders paid €1 million to San Diego Wave FC to secure the services of the 24-year-old defender.

Girma was officially presented on the pitch by the Women’s Super League champions before Sunday’s 1-0 victory against Arsenal Women at Stamford Bridge.

It's official. ✍️

Naomi Girma plays for Chelsea Football Club. 🔵 pic.twitter.com/hb7OMyhE06

— Chelsea FC Women (@ChelseaFCW) January 26, 2025

Girma signs for Chelsea for a world-record fee

The world record for the highest transfer fees paid for a female footballer was held by Bay FC, who paid €685,000 for Racheal Kundananji in February 2024.

Chelsea has broken the transfer world record and also surpassed the British transfer signing record as well, previously held by Mayra Ramirez, who signed for Chelsea for a €384,000 transfer fee.

Girma has also become the first-ever €1M signing in women's football.

Chelsea Women gaffer Sonia Bompastor has made her first January 2025 signing with Girma as she will enter the team roster after Chelsea defender Kadeisha Buchanan suffered an ACL tear injury in November 2024.

World-record signing Naomi Girma was presented at Stamford Bridge 🤩🔵 pic.twitter.com/vqT0XneC0C

— B/R Football (@brfootball) January 26, 2025

Naomi Girma played an integral part in USWNT's Olympic Gold-winning campaign in Paris last year and was also named the US Soccer’s female player of the year in 2023. She was also named the NWSL Defender of the Year in 2022 and 2023.

However, Girma has signed a huge 4-year deal until 2029 as Chelsea head of women’s football Paul Green affirmed his confidence in this signing.

Naomi is a world-class defender who is now coming into the prime years of her career.

Girma also expressed her excitement about joining the Blues as she stated to BBC Sport:

I'm so happy and really excited to be here. It doesn't feel real,

There are a lot of things about Chelsea that made me want to come here - the culture, the winning mentality, staff and players.

It's a top environment to learn and grow in. Right now, that's what I'm looking to do.

Record transfers in women's football

East Bengal commenced their Indian Women's League (IWL) 2024-25 season with a commendable 2- 0 victory over Kickstart FC at the historic East Bengal Ground on 10th January 2025. Two brilliant goals scored by Sandhya Ranganathan and Resty Nanzary are enough to take three points for the Red and Gold brigade.

The home side's first goal materialized by another regular starter for India Soumya Guguloth played a crucial role in that goal. She delivered a ball from the right for Sulanjana Raul, whose header struck the crossbar. The rebound was found by Sandhya Ranganathan, who netted it with a beautiful header.

Read Also | Exclusive Shreya Hooda: Best Goalkeeper in IWL & NFC, National team and the World Cup dream

Maintaining their momentum, East Bengal doubled their lead early in the second half. In the 49th minute, Ugandan recruit Resty Nanzari, made a beautiful run from the left side of the pitch and showcased her skill by delivering a precise low shot into the near post, and securing a goal. That was enough to start a season with a commendable victory for the home side.

Kickstart FC, originating from Bengaluru, attempted to penetrate East Bengal's defence but struggled to create promising opportunities in the attacking third. The host's defence was rock solid and effectively neutralized a clean sheet to start their IWL campaign on a positive note.

Read Also | Indumathi, Shilky, Shreya among the winners of IWL 2023-24 awards

The victory provided East Bengal with a solid foundation for positive progress in the IWL season, they were rock solid in defence and also offensively great. Conversely, Kickstart FC will aim to enhance their strategies in the upcoming matches to rebound from the initial setback. 

Debutant Lhingdeikim's four goals along with Simran Gurung's brace helped the Indian Women's Football team thrash Maldives by 11-1 in their FIFA Friendly match in Bangalore. Kajol Dsouza, Pooja, Sibani Devi, and Khumukcham Bhumika Devi were the other scorers for Blue Tigeress. 

After beating Bangladesh by 14-0 in their final match of 2024, the Indian Women's Football team started the 2025 on a great note with an emphatic win over the visitors, Maldives. 

India head coach Joakim Alexandersson made many changes to the team that played against Bangladesh which handed two debutants a chance in the starting XI. Lhingdeikim, who scored four goals (twice in both halves) and Shibani Devi, who last year featured for East Bengal FC in the Indian Women's League were among the changes Alexandersson.

Read Also | Indian Women's Football team crush Maldives 14-0 in FIFA Friendly

Ribansi Jamu, Thingbaijam Sanjita Devi, Juhi Singh, Monisha Singha, Khumukcham Bhumika Devi and Simran Gurung were the players who made their debut off the bench. 

Read Also | Exclusive: Here's how Football giving hope to "Mini-Brazil of India"

Maldives looked good in the early minutes which forced Linthoingambi Devi to make some saves but once the Indian team resolved the issue and found their pace, they were tough to resist.

Lhingdeikim started the onslaught for India with an early goal in the 12th minute before providing an assist for Kajol Dsouza to extend the lead three minutes later. She found the net again in the next minute after receiving a perfect ball from Sibani. In the 17th minute, Sangita Basfore's header was deflected into the goal by Maldives captain Hawwa Haneefa. 

However, right before the halfway mark, Maldives scored their only goal of the match as Mariyam Rifa found the net after a defensive error from the Indian team. 

But, India struck again before half-time with Pooja and Shibani scoring one each. At half-time, India were leading by 6-1 and it looked like we would have the scoreline just like the last match. 

Lhingdeikim started the second half by scoring from a beautiful assist by Pooja in the 56th minute. A minute later she scored her fourth goal of the match by flicking a ball with his right foot for a neat finish. This time, Kajol was the assist provider for her. 

Simran Gurung, who came off the bench at halftime, scored two goals in the 62nd and 68th minutes. A red card for Maeesha Abdul Hannan did not help the Maldives as well as the defender made a deliberate handball inside the penalty box. Bhumika Devi converted the penalty in the 71st minute to complete the riot. 

Scorecard | India vs Maldives | FIFA Friendlies (Women's)

Maldives 1 (Mariyam Rifa 27’)

India 11 (Lhingdeikim 12’, 16’, 56’, 59’, Kajol Dsouza 15’, Hawwa Haneefa 17’ o.g., Pooja 41’, Sibani Devi 45+1’, Simran Gurung 62’, 68’, Khumukcham Bhumika Devi 71’ p)

UEFA has confirmed the title of the second-division women's European football tournament. The new flagship tournament will be called the 'UEFA Women's Europa Cup', which will aim to expand the competitiveness of women's football in continental stages. 

Presenting the 🏆 UEFA Women’s Europa Cup 🏆!

The UEFA Executive Committee has approved the name of the newly created second women’s club competition that will kick off from the 2025/26 season.

🤩 An exciting new era for women's football in Europe!

— UEFA (@UEFA) December 16, 2024

The tournament is set to commence from the 2025-26 season and will adopt a knockout format.

A new era begins

On 2 December 2023, the UEFA Executive Committee approved the post-2025 sporting concept for European women’s club football.

The UEFA Women's Europa Cup will be of similar importance as the UEFA Europa League which is the existing second-divison of men's European football competitions. However, the 'Cup' in the title implies the knockout status of the newly-formed tournament.

UEFA has addressed the new tournament to be "primed for drama and unpredictability". The official logo, branding, and trophy design will be unveiled in 2025.

Format and qualification 

The UEFA Women’s Europa Cup will be played consisting of six different rounds– two qualifying rounds, the round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals, and a two-legged final to crown the inaugural champions.

13 teams will be eligible for direct qualification to this tournament; third-placed teams from leagues of the UEFA nations ranked 8-13, and runners-up from associations ranked 18-24.

The UEFA Women's Europa Cup's first qualifying round will primarily feature 11 teams eliminated in the UEFA Women's Champions League second qualifying round. On the other hand, 20 teams eliminated from the UWCL second and third qualifying rounds will enter the Europa Cup second qualifying round.

Significant changes in women's football in Europe

Major boost incoming for Women's club football in Europe from next season onwards, featuring:

👑 A revamped and fully centralised @UWCL
🏆 The new UEFA Women's Europa Cup
💰 A new financial distribution system that will benefit clubs across the continent.

More: ⤵️

— UEFA (@UEFA) December 16, 2024

As the UEFA Women's Champions League will also welcome notable changes from next season onwards, UEFA shows its commitment to expanding women's football to more countries marking a long-standing transformation. UEFA stated the following in its official announcement in July 2024:

Both competitions have been developed with the aim of increasing competitiveness and maximising participation while also considering calendar constraints and player load.

UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin also stated:

UEFA has placed huge importance on developing women's football in recent years, making enormous strides thanks to a dedicated strategy, solid investment, and a passion to ensure the game is open to everybody. The new UEFA Women's Champions League format and the introduction of a second competition are further demonstration of this commitment and both will be exciting, competitive competitions that allow more players and clubs across the continent to dream of European glory.

The All India Football Federation has released the tentative schedule for the 2024-25 edition of Indian Women's League. Scheduled to be kicked off on 10 January 2025, IWL 2024-25 is going to be the eighth edition of the premier division of women's football league in India. 

8 teams are set to participate in the IWL 2024-25, 6 teams from last season, and two teams that achieved their promotion to the IWL from the IWL 2.

From Complete fixtures to the participating teams, here is everything you need to know about the upcoming edition of the Indian Women's League for the 2024-25 season. 

Teams to participate in the IWL 2024-25

6 out of the 7 participating teams from last season will feature in this edition, as Sports Odisha withdrew themselves from the tournament. The two promoted teams from the IWL 2, Sreebhumi Football Club and Nita Football Academy are the new inclusions this season.  

• Odisha FC Women 

• Gokulam Kerala FC

• Kickstart FC

• Sethu FC

• HOPS FC

• East Bengal FC

• Sreebhumi Football Club

• Nita Football Academy 

Teams to watch this season

1. Odisha FC Women 

Odisha FC Women have already created history as they became the first-ever Indian Club to play in a Champions League group game. They started their AFC WCL preliminary stage campaign against Singapore's Lion City Sailors with a 4-1 victory over them. Coach Crispin Chhetri and his team etched themselves in history by being the first-ever Indian team to qualify for the Champions League group stage with a 2-1 victory against Jordan's top-flight Champions, Etihad Club. 

However, the journey for Odisha FC Women in the AFC Women's Champions League 2024-25 ended up in quite a nightmare as they got knocked out from the group stage after losing all three group games and conceding 24 goals in total! Odisha FC Women faced the worst defeat in their history in the very first game of the WCL as the defending Asian Champions, Urawa Reds Ladies crushed Odisha by 17-0. 

Read Also | Odisha FC crowned IWL 2023-24 Champions after a near-perfect season

But it will be a different story in the IWL because Odisha FC Women will take the field as the defending champions. They finished at the top of the IWL 2023-24 table, winning 10 games out of 12 and collecting 31 points to be crowned Champions.

𝐍𝐄𝐖 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐌𝐏𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒 👑@OdishaFCW are crowned Indian Women’s League Champions after a fantastic season filled with dominant performances! 🤩🙌🏻#IWL 🏆 #ShePower 👧 #IndianFootball ⚽ pic.twitter.com/acyvchFglI

— I-League (@ILeague_aiff) March 24, 2024

Odisha FC Women scored a total of 31 goals in the tournament while conceding only 4. The Indian Champions will be one of the teams to watch as they will give their all to resist every calamity to defend and retain their title. 

Read Also | Exclusive Shreya Hooda: Best Goalkeeper in IWL & NFC, National team and the World Cup Dream

2. Gokulam Kerala FC 

Gokulam Kerala FC is the most successful Women's football club in Indian football with 3 IWL titles won in 2019-20, 2021-22, and 2022-23. They were also the runner-up last season with 29 points in 12 matches. Gokulam Women won 9 out of the 12 games and scored a staggering 33 goals in total. 

Thankful to the almighty ❤️ pic.twitter.com/0uVBrskHAi

— Fazila Ikwaput (@FazilaIkwaput) March 26, 2024

Gokulam missed out on the Championship by just two points and they will bounce back stronger this season. Gokulam's Forward Fazila Ikwaput became the highest goalscorer of the IWL 2024-25 with 13 goals, and this Ugandan international will again be donning Gokulam's shirt. 

Hemam Shilky Devi will again lead Gokulam's defence who was officially named the Best Defender of last season. Soumya Guguloth and Sandhiya Ranganathan who scored 7 and 6 goals last season respectively will again play for the title this season. 

Read Also | IWL 2023-24 Exclusive: India's top-tier women's football tournament on grounds without a single grass

Previous Winners 

Complete Fixtures