England 1-0 Denmark: Lauren James gives Lionesses win in game marred by Keira Walsh injury
arina Wiegman said on the eve of this World Cup she wanted selection headaches, but now the England head coach will fear she has one that cannot be cured.
The Lionesses put one foot in the last-16 with a 1-0 victory over Group D opponents Denmark, however the result was overshadowed by Keira Walsh injuring her knee.
Walsh’s knee buckled when she was stretching for a pass 10 minutes before half-time and immediately the midfielder signalled to the bench that she had to come off.
She looked close to tears as she was carried off on a stretcher and England will be fearing the worst.
The Lionesses already lost captain Leah Williamson, forward Beth Mead and playmaker Fran Kirby to knee injuries before this World Cup, but the absence of Walsh would be even greater than that.
The Barcelona midfielder, who is the most expensive player in the history of the women’s game, is the best in the world at what she does.
No one else can sit in front of the defence and dictate play like she does and it will take all of Wiegman’s managerial prowess to solve a puzzle like this.
Her solution for this win over Denmark was to bring on Manchester City midfielder Laura Coombs and to drop Georgia Stanway deeper.
It helped England get over the line, but it was hardly the flowing football they were playing before then – perhaps in part to the distressing scenes the Lionesses had witnessed when Walsh went down.
Prior to that, it had all looked so promising for England as Lauren James announced herself on the biggest stage of all by scoring after six minutes.
There had been calls for the Chelsea winger to start this game after the Lionesses’ lacklustre attack in their 1-0 win over Haiti and James justified coming into the team for Lauren Hemp.
James was England’s best player in the first-half, alongside Walsh, and her goal was superbly taken.
The 21-year-old picked the ball up outside the box and curled it into the bottom corner, finally giving Wiegman’s side the spark in attack they have been missing. It was England’s first goal from open play in 343 minutes.
James was one of two changes by Wiegman for this game and she will be pleased with how her tactical tweaks went.
Rachel Daly was shifted back to left-back for the first time since November and after spending the whole season playing upfront for Aston Villa.
Daly was the top scorer in the Women’s Super League this season but, after impressing at left-back last summer as England won the Euros, Wiegman returned her to the defence.
The 31-year-old setup James’ goal and she looked a threat herself, getting forward on the overlap whenever she could.
Daly’s move to left-back allowed Alex Greenwood to play in the heart of defence instead of Jess Carter, who was dropped to the bench.
England have been lacking a ball-playing centre-back in the absence of Williamson and Greenwood’s move there paid off today.
Right from the off, she got on the ball and it was little surprise the Lionesses had 78 per cent possession in the first-half.
The only frustration for England was that they were not turning their dominance into goals and Denmark carried a threat on the counter.
The Lionesses gave the ball away three times in the space of four first-half minutes and Rikke Madsen, Janni Thomsen and Pernille Harder all went close to levelling the game.
After Walsh’s injury, this became a flat game and England desperately wanted a second goal to put the match to bed.
Alessia Russo, who led the line well, wasted a great chance with 20 minutes to go when she skewed a shot wide.
That was to be Russo’s last act as she was taken off for Beth England, while Ella Toone was substituted for Hemp.
It allowed James to finish the game playing as a No10, a role she may now play as England rework their midfield without Walsh.
Big blow: Walsh could not continue after injuring her knee
/ AFP via Getty ImagesEngland looked bright in her brief cameo, flicking a header from a Daly cross just over the top of the crossbar.
A second goal never came, however, and they were so nearly punished with just three minutes to go.
Denmark winger Nicoline Haugard Sorensen swung in a cross from the left and Amalie Vangsgaard unluckily saw her header smash against the post.
Wiegman will have breathed a huge sigh of relief after that and even more so at the final whistle.
As it does when England win, ‘Sweet Caroline’ blared out over the PA system then, but this did not feel like a party atmosphere.
Wiegman has plenty to ponder.
