England have been absolutely loving their time in Australia and New Zealand at the 2023 Women’s World Cup, but there is one player that may not be feeling quite as gleeful as the rest of the team.
Sarina Wiegman’s side are now into the final where they will face Spain, with neither team having won the Women’s World Cup before. The Lionesses coach has got a huge decision to make regarding her starting XI on Sunday morning as one notable absentee from the quarter-final and semi-final triumphs is once again available.
With the game fast approaching, here is a look at why Wiegman can call upon Lauren James after her red card against Nigeria and whether she will be thrust straight back into the XI.
England have not had a completely settled first team throughout the World Cup – particularly compared to the untampered formula which won the 2022 European Championships. One of the changes made by Wiegman which yielded the most reward was to bring James into the starting XI for the second group game against Denmark.
She had only played the last half an hour against Haiti but grabbed the only goal of the game against Denmark in the sixth minute. James could not be dropped for the meeting with China and repaid that faith with two superb goals and three assists in an emphatic 6-1 win, becoming the first English player ever to directly contribute to five goals in a single World Cup game.
James had made herself integral but unravelled against Nigeria. England did not play well in the round of 16, but their job got much harder when James made the bizarre decision to stand on Michelle Alozie after a challenge.
England’s “cheat code” had cheated and was deservedly shown a straight red card. There were immediate fears that her tournament was over, given a dismissal for violent conduct carried a three-game suspension, which was the number of games left in the tournament should England keep winning.
In the end, she was only handed a two-game ban by the authorities which is why she is now in contention to start against Spain on Sunday.
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There are few options for Wiegman to choose from when it comes to the attacking set-up of her side, but the public debate seems to have centred on whether Ella Toone should keep her place as part of the England attack, or if James should come straight back in.
Toone grabbed the opening goal of the semi-final against Australia in superb fashion, and has impressed throughout the tournament, so it would certainly seem harsh for her to miss out on the final for James. There is also a school of thought that James does not deserve to come straight back into the team given the position that she put her teammates in with a very avoidable red card.
That being said, James looked unstoppable before one moment of madness – which can happen for someone at the tender age of 21 – and Wiegman could give her a superb opportunity for redemption.
Emma Hayes, James’ club manager with Chelsea, has said that her forward would definitely be ready to come straight back into the starting lineup, but she is not going to try and tell Wiegman what to do.
“I think you know, I’m a manager but picking someone else’s team is not my job,” Hayes explained. “It’s Sarina’s. My job is to enjoy it. Those players are prepared for whatever happens and for whatever team Sarina picks. I’m sure Lauren would be ready.
“Lauren is just very excited to be in a World Cup final as all of the England players are. They are all excited. It’s about England as a team and England as a whole and they have all stepped up and filled in, whether that’s Katie Zelem who filled in for Keira Walsh or Ella Toone at least filling in for Lauren James after that quarter-final.
“Lauren is an outstanding player and will go on to contribute many more moments for both club and country. As always she will be reflective and will move forward with that.”
Former Italy international Arianna Criscione, Dulwich Hamlet’s Brittany Saylor and Football for Future founder Elliot Arthur-Worsop join Katie Cross to have football’s climate conversation about the Women’s World Cup and tournament football’s carbon footprint. Pledgeball’s Heather Ashworth also gives an update on the Pledgeball’s new Women’s World Cup initiative.
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