England crush China to cruise into knockout stages

England Women rediscovered their attacking touch in a merciless 6-1 win over Group D rivals China PR Women at the Hindmarsh Stadium to seal their place in the knockout stages of the Women's World Cup.

Sarina Wiegman's side had laboured to a pair of 1-0 successes over Haiti and Denmark in July, but the European champions ran riot in Adelaide, as Lauren James continued her excellent form with a brace alongside efforts from Alessia Russo, Lauren Hemp, Chloe Kelly and Rachel Daly.

Adapting to the absence of Keira Walsh - who sustained a knee injury in England's previous win over Denmark - Wiegman introduced Manchester United's Katie Zelem into the engine room to link up with Georgia Stanway.

James also kept her place in the side after her sublime winner last time out, and with just four minutes on the clock, the effervescent Chelsea attacker played her part in a deserved opener for the Lionesses.

A Hemp cross from the left was partially cleared by Chen Qiaozhu, but James headed the ball back into the area, where Russo took a touch before finding the bottom corner with a pinpoint low strike.

© Reuters

The two creators from England's opener then directly combined for their nation's second goal in the 26th minute, as James played a perfectly-weighted pass through to Hemp, who raced through on goal and clinically finished low into the back of the net.

Only the woodwork denied a rampant England a third in the 33rd minute, as Lucy Bronze headed against the post from Daly's cross before sending the follow-up wide, but the Lionesses would make the net ripple again just before the break.

Fresh from her two assists earlier in the game, James was left unmarked inside the D to meet a short Alex Greenwood free kick, and the 21-year-old sent a delightful first-time strike into the far corner.

James's scintillating showing would seemingly continue with a second goal just before the break, as she curled another sumptuous shot into the top corner from 20 yards, but the goal was controversially chalked off.

Bronze had laid the ball off for James to pick out the top corner, but the Barcelona defender was deemed to have been interfering with play from an offside position.

LAUREN JAMES OH MY WORD 💫

Sensational on the volley from James... she has 2️⃣, #ENG have 4️⃣!#FIFAWWC pic.twitter.com/NGtFPLGZ5n

— ITV Football (@itvfootball) August 1, 2023

Bronze's fortunes did not improve early in the second period either, as she was penalised for a handball inside the area in the 55th minute, picking up a booking for her troubles as the VAR officials awarded China a penalty.

Wang Shuang made no mistake from 12 yards as the Steel Roses reduced the arrears, and England initially struggled to assert their dominance in the second half, but yet another moment of magic from James restored the Lionesses' three-goal advantage.

With 66 minutes on the clock, Chelsea defender Jess Carter launched an outswinging cross to the back post, where her clubmate James was waiting to fire an unstoppable volley back across goal and into the net.

Normal service had resumed after the Steel Roses' brief period of promise, and England had their fifth in the 77th minute, as China goalkeeper Yu Zhu horribly misjudged a long ball over the top, and substitute Kelly raced beyond her to slot home into an empty net.

The demolition job was not complete, though, and Daly got in on the act in the 83rd minute, sending a powerful volley into the roof of the net after Laura Coombs's blocked shot fell kindly for her.

There was time for Qiaozhu to force Mary Earps into a full-stretch save in the 87th minute, but there was no denying England a first-placed finish in Group D, which sees the Lionesses rewarded with a last-16 tie against Nigeria on August 7.