Ellen White grabs double as Team GB open Olympics with win over Chile

Updated: May 17, 2023, 12:05 am

Great Britain kicked off their Tokyo 2020 Olympics campaign with a 2-0 win over Chile at the Sapporo Dome in Group E on Wednesday.

In the first football match of the Olympics, with the opening ceremony not until Friday, Ellen White put Team GB ahead on 18 minutes before she added a second 17 minutes from time to underline her side's dominance.

The top two from the three groups of four teams advance automatically to the quarterfinals, along with two best third-place teams. And while Team GB convene every four years so have no FIFA world ranking, the majority of the squad come from England (world ranking six) and faced a Chile side ranked 37.

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The gulf between the two teams was clear early on as White tapped in on 11 minutes only to be ruled offside, before she broke the deadlock seven minutes later. Lucy Bronze chipped the ball to the far post and Lauren Hemp found White, who made no mistake. A minute later it was almost 2-0, but Georgia Stanway's attempt from close range was blocked.

Team GB opened Tokyo 2020 with a routine win.
ASANO IKKO/AFP via Getty Images

Lining up in a 4-3-3 system, Team GB dominated the first half and overran the Chile midfield time and time again, making light of claims they may struggle after only playing one game's preparation ahead of the tournament -- a 3-0 win against New Zealand in Kawasaki last week.

Team GB, in only their second Olympics, fully controlled the first half, deservedly going into the break 1-0 ahead, and continued the second period in similar style with Hemp having two efforts in quick succession soon after the restart.

White came close to doubling the lead just before the hour mark but Chile managed to clear just as she looked set to tuck home, before the South Americans survived two VAR calls for separate incidents inside the penalty area.

Manchester City's White then finally added as second with a volley at the far post from Bronze's cross to make the game safe and ensure Hege Riise's team started their campaign with a comfortable win.

Riise's side face hosts Japan on Saturday and then travel to Kashima to take on Canada on July 27.