James, who scored on her first World Cup start for England against Denmark on Friday, took her performance to a whole new level against China. The 21-year-old Blues forward grabbed two goals and three assists as the Lionesses won Group D to set up a last 16 tie with Nigeria.

With two sublime first-time finishes under her belt, James turned provider for three further goals and wrote her name in the record books as the youngest player to be directly involved in five goals in a single Women’s World Cup match.

Speaking after the final whistle, James reflected on a good day at the office both personally and collectively. She was deployed in the No.10 role against China, having operated out wide against Denmark, but relishes any opportunity she gets to play.

‘I felt free and whether I’m on the wing or in the middle, I’m just happy to be on the pitch playing and enjoying my football. I’m happy that I could contribute to goals as well.’

Having been directly involved in five of England’s six goals on the night, James acknowledged that there is always room for improvement and that she is always striving to develop and take her game to new levels.

‘Each day and each game I’m looking to improve and get better. There are many more years of improvement and I can always get better. I just need to stay focused and hopefully that can happen.’

Nigeria lie in wait for England at the round of 16 stage on Monday morning. James knows the difficulty of the task ahead against a side whose performances took some by surprise during the group stage.

‘Very tough, every team has been tough. Watching the other games, teams are catching up with each other and Nigeria will be another difficult game.’