Underdogs serve notice that the gap is closing at Women's World Cup

SYDNEY : If there were concerns about blowouts when the Women's World Cup expanded to 32 teams this year, minnows Haiti, Jamaica and Ireland have served notice they deserve to be on the game's biggest stage.

Germany, Brazil and Japan might have racked up the goals in their opening matches but other title contenders have faced much stiffer competition from lowly-ranked opponents than they might have expected.

"We belong. We think we can compete at this level," Philippines coach Alen Stajcic said after his 46th-ranked team lost 2-0 to Switzerland, and had a goal disallowed for offside.

"We've arrived at the point where we've improved significantly enough to where we can go on the pitch and believe that we can win."

At the 2019 World Cup in France, the United States thoroughly demolished Thailand 13-0. Their merciless goal celebrations left a sour taste as poor sportsmanship with some, and the shocking scoreline raised questions about parity.

Four years later, the most lopsided score after the first round of matches was Germany's 6-0 win over Morocco on Monday. Vietnam drew the short straw as the first opponents for the Americans but were far from humiliated by a 3-0 loss.

Despite eight teams making their World Cup debut this year, the storyline in Australia and New Zealand has been far more about the pleasant surprises.

Jamaica's Reggae Girlz, outscored 12-1 in 2019, held fifth-ranked France to a hardfought 0-0 draw in Sydney.

European champions England edged debutants Haiti 1-0, but needed a spectacular late save from keeper Mary Earps to secure all three points. Debutants Ireland dropped a 1-0 decision to Australia before a record crowd of 75,784 in Sydney.

"There are good players coming through the ranks now and I think once