Lauren James England Women 2023Getty

England Women's player ratings vs Denmark: Lauren James is a superstar! Lionesses youngster steps up as Alessia Russo and Ella Toone struggle again in narrow World Cup win

England are on the brink of qualifying for the Women's World Cup knockout stages after a 1-0 win over Denmark that saw Lauren James shine, the Chelsea star scoring a stunning opening goal, though the evening was marred by a worrying injury to midfielder Keira Walsh. The Barcelona star had to be stretchered off before half-time and there is real concern over what looked to be a serious knee problem.

After the Lionesses put in an underwhelming display against Haiti last week, though one that did end in a victory, James was brought into the starting XI at the expense of Lauren Hemp and she immediately set about repaying Sarina Wiegman's faith in her with a gorgeous strike early on.

Denmark threatened to respond with some promising moves on the counter, but they were unable to punish the European champions when they got those opportunities as England made it two wins from two.

GOAL rates the Lionesses' players from the Allianz Stadium in Sydney...

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