James' first half stunner gives England a 1-0 win against Denmark

England 1-0 Denmark: Lionesses claim their second-straight win at the World Cup thanks to Lauren James’ wondergoal… but Sarina Wiegman faces anxious wait over Keira Walsh’s nasty knee injury

• Lauren James’ first-half stunner was enough to secure a second group stage win
• England star Keira Walsh suffered what appeared to be a serious knee injury
• Lionesses survived a nervy end to the game as Denmark struck the woodwork

Sarina Wiegman had talked about her team being more ruthless. Yesterday, the England manager followed her own advice.

After four games without a goal from open play, Wiegman made the bold decision of changing her starting XI from the team that beat Haiti. 

In came Lauren James and Rachel Daly. For Wiegmann, this was radical. She rarely alters her team at tournaments. But with risk comes reward.

Within six minutes, Daly’s pass found James and her strike found the back of the net. Goal drought over. 

For 30 minutes, everything went right. Then, in the most innocuous of moments, everything went wrong. 

Lauren James opened the scoring for England after only six minutes at the Allianz Stadium 

England suffered the blow of losing star player Keira Walsh to a serious knee injury early on

Sarina Wiegman saw her team claim back-to-back 1-0 victories at this summer’s tournament

As Keira Walsh went to intercept a pass, her studs caught in the turf. The midfielder, clearly in pain, mouthed to England’s physios ‘I’ve done my knee’ before being taken off on a stretcher in tears. 

There could not have been a worse sight for the Lionesses’ bench. They will hope against hope that Walsh has not ruptured her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), the same injury that prevented Leah Williamson and Beth Mead from competing at this World Cup. 

Williamson and Mead, while huge losses, are replaceable. Walsh is not. There is no player like her in this England squad. Winning the World Cup without her is an almighty task. 

Laura Coombs came on in Walsh’s place, earning only her seventh international cap – a sign of the lack of depth in central midfield.

Before Walsh’s injury, England had looked more confident and comfortable on the ball than they had done against Haiti. 

That Wiegman started Daly at left back, where she played in the Euros, rather than up front, where she played the entirety of the domestic season, was an unexpected change. Daly’s 22 goals in 22 games for Aston Villa saw her finish as the Women’s Super League’s top scorer. 

Wiegman had not started her in defence since a 4-0 victory over Japan in November. But it was clear against Haiti that England’s build-up play was lacking with Alex Greenwood at left back, rather than the centre of defence. 

Moving Greenwood into the middle meant Jess Carter was dropped. That will not have been an easy decision for Wiegman. Carter barely put a foot wrong against Haiti but Daly offers more going forward and has played a higher number of games for England in that position.

Alex Greenwood (centre) excelled at the back alongside Millie Bright in the 1-0 victory 

Rachel Daly made her first start of the tournament and featured at left-back for the Lionesses

James coming in for Hemp felt logical given the latter has struggled for form of late. James, still only 21, is a special player. In the sixth minute she showed why there is so much excitement around her. 

After picking the ball up from Daly, James effortlessly glided past Denmark’s Josefine Hasbo. As space opened up, the forward curled a powerful shot into the right corner of the net. Everything England did well went through James, though there was still occasions where they looked vulnerable to Denmark’s counter-attack.

They had grown into the game before Walsh’s injury but did not trouble England goalkeeper Mary Earps in the first half. 

Millie Bright had looked rusty in the Lionesses’ opening game after returning from a four-month injury. The Lionesses captain seemed more comfortable alongside Greenwood but needed her centre-back partner to make an important last-ditch tackle at the start of the second half. 

Earps then tipped over a looping shot from Pernille Harder as the Danes pushed for an equaliser.

Wiegman would have hoped to see the floodgates open after James’ early goal, but England were still far from their fluid best in the final third. 

It is hard to know whether that would have been different whether Walsh had stayed on the field. Alessia Russo and Ella Toone both worked hard but with neither having managed to make a significant impact on the game, they were withdrawn for Bethany England and Hemp in the 76th minute.

England nearly had an instant impact, heading Daly’s cross just over the bar as the Lionesses looked for a second goal. Daly then had to be alert at the other end to prevent Harder tapping in from close-range.

Denmark came close to an equaliser at the end of the game through Amalie Vangsgaard

Mary Earps was forced into action in the second period after a largely untested first-half 

But after having cleared her lines, Daly was then caught on her heels when Amalie Vangsgaard drifted past her to send a header against the post. 

There was a suspicion of offside in the build-up but it was a huge let off for England, who spent the last five minutes camped in their own half.

The Lionesses just about saw out the final stages but, for the second game running, it was not convincing. After such a promising start, England dragged themselves over the line. 

Wiegman had said after the opening game that winning was what mattered most. The same is true of this victory over Denmark, but it is hard not to feel it is overshadowed by the injury to Walsh. 

By full-time, the midfielder was sitting on the bench with a pair of crutches in tow. The severity of her injury will be assessed in the coming days. The outcome may determine how far England progress in this tournament.

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