No more. With two goals and three assists in this victory over China, and a hattrick denied only by a controversial VAR call, James helped England to make an emphatic statement of intent and announced her arrival on the world stage.
The result booked England's place in the last 16, setting up a tie on Monday against Nigeria, and breathed life into a campaign that had yet to lift off.
Many had theorised how Sarina Wiegman would fill the gap left by Keira Walsh. During the head coach's tenure, Walsh had been missing three times. Who could replace the influential defensive midfielder that funnels all of England's play through the middle? It turns out: no one player. Instead, Wiegman rejigged the setup to compensate for the loss of such an important cog. Gone was 4-3-3 and in was 3-4-1-2.
"First, you need belief from the team and they were really excited about it," she said. "You don't know if it's going to work but we were convinced it would."
Katie Zelem, who plays as a deep midfielder for Manchester United, joined Georgia Stanway in the middle. Ella Toone, who struggled in England's defeats of Haiti and Denmark, made way so James could shift infield into the No 10 role and Lauren Hemp joined Alessia Russo up front. Jess Carter made her second start, this time on the right of a back three, with Millie Bright and Alex Greenwood, while Rachel Daly and Lucy Bronze moved from full-back to wing-back. The only other time Wiegman had experimented with a back three came in their record-breaking 20-0 win over Latvia.
Bu hikaye The Guardian dergisinin August 02, 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
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Bu hikaye The Guardian dergisinin August 02, 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
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