Le Havre (France) (AFP) – Jodie Taylor booked England’s place in the last 16 of the Women’s World Cup on Friday after bagging the winner in a tight 1-0 win over dogged Argentina.
Taylor tapped home Beth Mead’s inviting low cross just after the hour mark to send England to the top of Group D and into the next round with a game still to play, alongside Germany, France and Italy.
Phil Neville’s side now need a point against Japan in Nice on Wednesday to ensure that they finish in first place and avoid a potential clash with European champions the Netherlands in the next round.
Despite the defeat the ‘Albicelestes’, third in the group with a point, can still qualify for the knockout stages if they beat Scotland in their final game in Paris, although they will have to show more attacking intent than they have in their opening two matches.
They were twice saved by goalkeeper Vanina Correa, who pushed Nikita Parris’ 28th-minute penalty off the post and then pulled off a super stop to deny the excellent Mead four minutes before the break.
