The head coach of the England women’s national team, Sarina Wiegman, has praised Lauren James for her “special” performance against China.
James scored twice and had three assists as the Lionesses won 6-1 on Tuesday.
The result saw England finish top of Group D, and they will now face Nigeria in the Round of 16 next Monday.
Wiegman made three changes from her starting XI that defeated Denmark 1-0 and moved James into the No. 10 role.
“[James] feels good, you can tell. She did special things today. Unfortunately, that one goal was cancelled. She flows over the pitch.
“We expected China to press high because they had to win to go through. But they just stayed in shape. They didn’t expect us to play this way, and they didn’t find a solution,” Wiegman told ITV after the game.