Lauren James, a return reminiscent of Jimmy Greaves
England will be able to count on striker Lauren James who has now served a two-match ban for stepping on Nigeria’s Alozie in the Round of 16.
An ace up Sarina Wiegman’s sleeve. That could be a Lauren James who is once again available to the England coach after serving a two-match ban for stepping on the back of Nigeria’s Michelle Alozie in the Round of 16.
You might also enjoy
England recovers a key player, their top scorer for Sunday’s final against Spain. The forward’s two-game absence for the quarter and semi-finals was reminiscent of Jimmy Greaves’ during the 1966 World Cup - but for different reasons. Greaves had started all of England’s group stage games but suffered a nasty shin injury in the third game, against France - a studs-high challenge from midfielder Joseph Bonnel left him with a gaping wound which needed 14 stitches. Greavsie missed the quarter final against Argentina and the semi-final against Portugal but manager Alf Ramsey decided to sticking with the same team that had got them through the knockout stage. As no substitutions were allowed, Greaves had to watch his team mates beat West Germany, and lift the trophy for the first and only time, from the stands...
It remains to be seen if James will be recalled to the starting XI or not against Spain. What seems clear after the level she exhibited up until the infamous Round of 16 incident is that she will almost certainly feature at some point in the final.
The Chelsea striker came on as a substitute in her tournament debut against Haiti, but earned a start in the next three games, scoring three goals and distributing another three to her team mates. After missing the quarter final and semis, James remains England’s top scorer (alongside Russo and Hemp) and tops the assists ranking as well. A luxury reinforcement for the final.