Having topped Group D, European champion England heads off to Brisbane to play Nigeria on Monday for a place in the quarterfinals.
Lauren James shone again with two fine pretensions as England put in its stylish performance of the Women’s World Cup so far to reach away China 6- 1 on Tuesday and march into the last 16 as Group D winner.
Alessia Russo gave the European champion the perfect launch with a thing in the fourth nanosecond and Lauren Hemp and James added two further to give England a comfortable lead at the break at Hindmarsh Stadium.
James seized her third thing of the event after halftime before Chloe Kelly and Rachel Daly also set up the net to give England an emphatic palm as it heads off to Brisbane to play Nigeria on Monday for a place in the quarterfinals.
It was a record World Cup defeat for Asian champion and 1995 rival China, which exited in the group stage for the first time in eight appearances at the global showpiece.
Without the injured Keira Walsh as the holding midfielder, England shifted to a 3-5-2 conformation and was soon making good raids down the sides.
England opened the scoring with a move that started with a Lauren Hemp cross from the left wing, James heading the ball to Russo in the box and the forward bringing it down before sliding it inside the post.
James was chancing it hard to find space to show her chops on the edge of the box but, fed by Millie Bright storming out of defence, slid a pass from a deeper position through to Hemp in the 26th nanosecond.
The Manchester City forward took what sounded to be an extravagant first touch but her pace took her clear of the last protector and she finished pithily.
The third thing came in the 41st nanosecond when James was left fully unmarked on the edge of the box at a free kick and cropped the ball first time into the reverse of the net.
James supplicated up an indeed better finish for what would have been a fourth thing of the event in cessation time at the end of the half but it was ruled out for offside after reference to VAR.
China had offered little in attack but got a thing back through a Wang Shuang penalty at the launch of the alternate half after VAR arbitrated protector Lucy Citation had handled in a goalmouth scramble.
James, still, seized the limelight again in the 66th nanosecond when Jess Carter’s cross picked her out at the far post and she finished with a beautifully controlled blitz.
Substitute Kelly also scored the fifth into an empty net from a James through ball that China goalkeeper Zhu Yu fully misgauged and wingback Daly put a buff on the scoreline with a fine finish in the 84th nanosecond.
“Again, another day of what dreams are made of, ” said James. “ I ’m happy for the platoon and everyone’s buzzing. And yeah, we ’re looking forward to going into coming round. ” Know More Latest Women’s Football News…
