On a warm evening at the Sydney Football Stadium, England and Denmark pitted their wits against each other in Group D. Both sides began the tournament with 1-0 victories and knew a win this time around would put them on the cusp of qualification for the last 16.

Sarina Wiegman selected two Blues from the start with Lauren James on the left wing and skipper Millie Bright partnered by Alex Greenwood in defence. Jess Carter, Niamh Charles and Hannah Hampton were among the substitutes, while former Blue Pernille Harder captained the Danes.

Joy for James

It was the perfect start for the Lionesses, who opened the scoring inside six minutes courtesy of James, who marked her first World Cup start with a goal. She picked the ball up outside the box in a central area, shifting onto her right foot and unleashing an unstoppable strike into the far corner of the net.

Confidence was flowing for England and James could have doubled their advantage with two chances in quick succession around the 20-minute mark. At the other end, Rikke Madsen and Harder saw chances to equalise go begging as Denmark searched for a route back into the game.

There was a stoppage in play on 35 minutes, which sadly resulted in Keira Walsh leaving the field on a stretcher, and Laura Coombes was drafted into the midfield. This disrupted the momentum of the game but England managed the remainder of the half and took their slender 1-0 lead into the break.

Maximum points

Once again, England came out of the blocks quickly and were on the front foot after the restart. James continued to pose a threat from the left side of the attack while the Lionesses were racking up the corner count, but couldn’t take advantage of those set-piece situations.

With 15 minutes remaining, the game was hanging in the balance with only James’ goal to separate the sides. Former Blue Bethany England was introduced for her first appearance of the tournament as the Lionesses looked for a second goal that would surely put the game to bed.

It could have been a different story when Danish substitute Amalie Vangsgaard saw her close-range header cannon back off the post as the Lionesses seemed to step off the gas momentarily. Despite this scare, Wiegman’s side held on to register back-to-back victories and maximum points in their quest to reach the knockout phase.

What’s next?

England take on China in their final Group D fixture in Adelaide on Tuesday 1 August, with kick-off scheduled for midday (UK time)