England Women captured the hearts of the entire nation when they brought football home last summer. The affectionately known Lionesses lifted the European Championships for the first time 12 months ago and the fact they finally won their maiden major trophy on home soil, dramatically beating Germany at Wembley Stadium, sent England into a frenzy.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic putting that tournament on ice for a year, we’re currently enjoying our second major tournament in as many summers as the Women’s World Cup is underway in Australia and New Zealand. It’s the ninth edition of the sport’s most prestigious tournament and many are expecting Sarina Wiegman’s ladies to follow up on their continental success Down Under.
This is a different kettle of fish to the Euros, however, and the answer to the question: Women’s World Cup who will win? Isn’t as straightforward as just saying England. The Lionesses suffered some hammer blows in the build-up to the tournament, with experienced defender Fran Kirby, captain Leah Williamson and the talismanic Beth Mead — who won the Golden Boot last summer — all picking up injuries that have left them missing the entire competition.
The retirement of veterans Ellen White and Jill Scott have left an even bigger void in the England dressing room and there were some concerns surrounding whether this youthful Lionesses side has what it takes to win a World Cup without those five players travelling Down Under. Those doubts were only amplified further when England failed to win either of their warm-up matches — drawing 0-0 with Portugal and losing 2-0 to World Cup co-hosts Australia.
Their opening match of the tournament left even more to be desired. The Lionesses faced Haiti and were expected to wipe the floor of the World No.53-ranked side, but the inability to find the back of the net continued from their warm-up matches and it took a Georgia Stanway penalty on the second attempt (as her initial effort was saved by the goalkeeper only for VAR to adjudge she had stepped off her line) to seal the 1-0 win.
Weigman needed someone to step up to the mark to help get her side out of this rut and regain some much-needed confidence. Many would have expected it to be the likes of Manchester’s Ella Toone, who is the top scorer in this squad, or Arsenal forward Alessio Russo. But it turned out it would be Lauren James to flick the switch.
The 21-year-old Chelsea Women’s forward was given her first start of the tournament against Denmark and repaid her manager’s faith almost immediately as she curled home a fantastic effort to give England the lead after just six minutes. It was still a rather tame 90 minutes overall from the Lionesses, but James’ moment of brilliant proved the difference.
That was enough for her to keep her place in England’s starting XI against China and she took her brilliance to the next level with a stunning performance in Adelaide. James set up Russo’s opener just four minutes in and she was the provider again when Manchester City’s Lauren Hemp doubled England’s advantage on the 26-minute mark.
The Chelsea star wasn’t finished yet, however, as she curled an effort past the goalkeeper from the edge of the box four minutes from half-time. James appeared to have a second when she scored from outside the area again in added time to the first half, but Lucy Bronze was deemed offside in the build-up.
China got one back from the penalty spot to make it 3-1, but they still couldn’t contain James as she restored England’s lead to three goals with a second strike before setting up Chloe Kelly for a hat-trick of assists to make it 5-1. Rachel Daly rounded off the scoring, but by that stage, James was already having a well-deserved rest on the bench.
If England are to go on and win the Women’s World Cup, Lauren James will be the first person her teammates and the Lionesses’ fans can thank. She has kicked this side into life and has not only been their unlikely hero, but one of the players of the tournament in the process.
