China Women 1 – 6 England Women

Lauren James had a hand in all-but one England goal as the Lionesses secured top spot in Women’s World Cup Group D with a 6-1 win over China to set up a last-16 meeting with Nigeria.

All eyes were on Sarina Wiegman’s XI as England looked to adapt to the loss of the injured Keira Walsh in midfield. The team left many wondering how they would line up, but as the game kicked off it transpired that Wiegman’s 4-3-3 was out in favour of 3-5-2.

Despite there being more defensive reinforcements on the pitch to mitigate Walsh’s absence, England produced their most free-flowing and free-scoring performance at the tournament so far with James at the heart.

She provided both balls for the opening goals from Alessia Russo (4) and Lauren Hemp (26), before scoring another stunning effort herself (41) to see the Lionesses cruise into a 3-0 first-half lead.

It could have been four before the break too but James’ second equally as impressive strike was ruled out by VAR for offside against Lucy Bronze.

Perhaps the only blot on England’s evening in Adelaide was conceding their first goal of the tournament. China were awarded a penalty after Bronze was penalised by VAR once again, this time for handball. Shanshan Wang dispatched from the spot as it looked like the Chinese were starting to find their feet – but that did not last long.

Another moment of quality from James (65) restored a three-goal lead for England, before a long pass from the forward was misread by China goalkeeper Yu Zhu, allowing Chloe Kelly (77) to score into an open net.

England did score one goal after James was taken off, with Rachel Daly (84) netting her first goal of the tournament and completing an impressive rout from the Lionesses, who could be hitting form at the right time heading into the knockout rounds.

After the game, James told ITV Sport: “Another day that dreams are made of, everyone’s buzzing and we’re looking forward to going to the next round.

“I felt free, whether I’m on the wing or in the middle. I’m just happy to be on the pitch playing and enjoying my football. I’m happy that I can contribute to goals as well.”

They will now face Nigeria in the last 16 on Monday, with kick off at 8.30am in Brisbane. Meanwhile, China have failed to make it out of the group stage for the first time at a Women’s World Cup.

How England cruised into the last 16

Inside four minutes, England scored with their first shot. Hemp, James and Russo combined down the right, before the Arsenal striker took a touch before firing a low, fizzing shot past Zhu.

An inevitable England second follow just before the half an hour. Millie Bright – looking back to her best after injury – picked up the ball in midfield before slotting it through for James. She in turn found Hemp’s run in between the defenders, before sending a cool finish into the back of the net.

Despite her positional change from wing to midfield, James scored another stunner just before the break. Alex Greenwood cut a free kick back to the winger at the top of the area, who sent home a low, curling effort past the goalkeeper in echoes of her winner against Denmark.

James scored another sensational goal in added time, curling home after being teed up by Bronze. However, after a lengthy VAR review, the goal was ruled out for offside against Bronze, with the right-back penalised for being in the wrong position as the initial ball was played in.

Bronze was penalised again by VAR soon after the break, this time for handball as a China corner was played in. After a lengthy review with the referee again going over to the monitor, Wang slotted home well past Mary Earps, who conceded her first goal of the tournament.

But just as China were finding their footing in the fixture, James came up with another moment of magic to restore England’s three-goal cushion. Jess Carter stood up a wonderful, diagonal ball to the back post, which James chipped home with her first touch for another stunning finish.

England did not need any more invitations to score again, but a defensive howler from Zhu did just that. She came out collect James’ long pass but did not get anywhere near it, allowing a lurking Kelly through to slot home into the open net.

The Lionesses proved they could score without James too, as Daly added a late sixth. Kelly flashed a ball across the face of goal with the WSL’s top scorer waiting at the back post to fire home as England cruised into the last 16.

Wiegman: James did special things

England Manager Sarina Wiegman:

“I’m very delighted, it shows how adaptive this team is and I think they are enjoying themselves on the pitch.

“[Lauren James] feels good, you can tell. She did special things today. Unfortunately, that one was cancelled but she flows up the pitch.

“I think we expected from China that they will press because they have to win to go through. We just stayed in shape, they expected us to play this way and they didn’t find a solution.

“I wanted to try other [players], and give Katie [Zelem] some space in the centre to create many opportunities. I think it also is pretty aggressive when Lucy [Bronze] and Rachel [Daly] can just press up quickly, in possession and out of possession, today that worked really well.”

Bronze: We had two days to prepare with new formation

England defender Lucy Bronze to Sky Sports News:

“We did really well. People from the outside were questioning our performances previously. We’d won two games in two, but we were coming into this game with arguably one of our best players missing from injury. So, we had to adapt to that, we adapted perfectly.

“I mentioned pre-game that we were going to be very adaptable today, I don’t think people realised quite how adaptable, we showed the different sides to our team. I think Sarina [Wiegman] especially, everyone expected the same team as the Euros, same team, same team but this tournament we’ve shown something different.

“Today, we’ve scored lots of goals like people expect from us, but the most important thing is that we won the game and no injuries on the field.

“We only prepared two days ago to change personnel, change shape, and everyone just got on with it, did what they were supposed to do did, their jobs, and it worked really well. It’s not easy to change things in the middle of a tournament, but obviously worked out for us.

“We know our opponents, now we know we face Nigeria. A different type of team, I guess, a team that we haven’t faced regularly in recent history.

“Obviously, I know one of the players very well, Asisat Oshoala, so it will be interesting to play up against her, but we’re looking forward to that game already. We’re ready to rest and recover for that.”

James: I’m looking to improve each day

England forward Lauren James to ITV Sport:

“Like the last game I thought, ‘why not hit it in and just here see what happens’.

“Each day I’m looking to improve and get better. There’s many more years of improvement and I can always get better. I just need to stay focused, and hopefully that can happen.

“Every team has been tough. Even watching the other games, teams are catching up with each other. That [against Nigeria] will be another difficult game.”

What’s next?

England will face Nigeria in the last 16 on Monday, with kick off at 8.30am in Brisbane.

What is the schedule?

The group stage runs over a two-week period, finishing on August 3. Group winners and runners-up progress to the round of 16, which takes place from August 5 to August 8.

The quarter-finals, which will be held in Wellington, Auckland, Brisbane and Sydney, are scheduled for August 11 and 12.

The first semi-final will then be played on August 15 in Auckland, with the other semi-final taking place on August 16 at the Accor Stadium in Sydney, which will then host the final on August 20.

A third-place play-off will be played the day before the final on August 19 in Brisbane.