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Lauren James Scores Women's World Cup Wondergoal As England Beat Denmark To Take Control Of Group D

Lauren James scored a Women's World Cup wondergoal as England beat Denmark 1-0 to take control of Group D. Kiera Walsh suffered an injury during the game.

Robert Summerscales

Lauren James Scores Women's World Cup Wondergoal As England Beat Denmark To Take Control Of Group D
Lauren James Scores Women's World Cup Wondergoal As England Beat Denmark To Take Control Of Group D /

England won 1-0 for the second game in a row to take control of Group D at the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup on Friday.

Six days after beating Haiti by a single goal in their opening match of the tournament, the European champions got the better of Denmark thanks to a superb strike by Lauren James.

Chelsea forward James - who is the sister of England men's defender Reece James - found the net from 23 yards in the seventh minute.

Watched by a crowd ofย 40,439 fans in Sydney, James collected the ball with her back to goal, before turning sharply, dribbling around Josefine Hasbo and bending a wicked low shot into the net.

Lauren James pictured scoring for England in a 1-0 win over Denmark during the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup group stage
Lauren James pictured scoring for England in a 1-0 win over Denmark at the Women's World Cup :: IMAGO/Uk Sports Pics Ltd/Richard Nicholson

This was England's first goal from open play at this year's World Cup, after Georgia Stanway had scored the winner from a penalty kick in game one.

England will win Group D as long as they do not lose to China in Adelaide next Tuesday.

But the Lionesses will likely be without Keira Walsh against China. Indeed, the Barcelona midfielder could be set to miss the rest of the tournament after suffering a knee injury late in the first half against Denmark.

England midfielder Keira Walsh pictured (center) surrounded by medical staff after suffering a knee injury during her team's 1-0 win over Denmark during the 2023 Women's World Cup group stage
England midfielder Keira Walsh was forced off with a knee injury during Friday's game :: IMAGO/PA Images/Zac Goodwin

Former England striker Ellen White - who scored a record-breaking 52 goals during her international career - sounded worried as she reacted to seeing Walsh leave the field in the 38th minute.

"I'm just devastated for Keira Walsh," said White, while commentating live on the game for BBC Sport.

"She has been one of the best, if not the best player, in this England side.

"It looks bad. You saw as soon as it happened she knew that it didn't look good.

"She is a big miss. Who is going to fill that void now for England?"

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Robert Summerscales
ROBERT SUMMERSCALES

Robert Summerscales launched FanNation Futbol in February 2022. Rob is a British journalist who previously spent two years on the sports desk at the Daily Mail in London, having earlier served as editor of CaughtOffside.com. He has been to the last two FIFA Men's World Cups, in Russia and Qatar, and is looking forward to completing his hat-trick in North America in 2026.