Day 13: She's James, she scored, she conquered

England burst into life as the US limp through

China 1 - England 6

Sometimes in life if things aren’t working out quite like you planned you just have to rip it up and start again. That’s what Sarina Wiegman did in England’s final group stage match, abandoning the 4-2-3-1 she has used throughout her tenure as manager in favour of a 3-5-2. 

The change might have been inspired by Keira Walsh’s injury but it offered solutions to far more problems than just the absence of their most creative player. In one fell swoop, Wiegman seemed to have solved: England’s problems in transition (by having Jess Carter cover for Lucy Bronze), being able to get Rachel Daly into attacking positions (by using her at wing back), and Alessia Russo’s struggles to get into the game (by giving her the freedom to drift out wide). By half-time, they were 3-0 up and it should have been 4.

Whilst the formation shift was clearly a big confidence boost for England, they were helped out by a virtuosic performance from Lauren James. She ended the match with five goal contributions - 2 goals and 3 assists - to cap off a spectacular performance that ended any doubts that she could perform on the biggest stage. Her finishing was exquisite, a right footed shot from the edge of the area and a left footed volley, as well as the left footed disallowed goal. Her passes to send through all three of Alessia Russo, Lauren Hemp and Chloe Kelly on goal were perfectly weighted. 

But what was potentially most telling was the way James was used in build-up. With Walsh unavailable, England chose to bypass their midfield a lot but Wiegman also normally relies on her fullbacks, who were now playing higher up the pitch as wingbacks. It was James who dropped into the left back position in order to pick the ball up as the game went on, vacating space for Hemp or Russo to drop, and being able to support England’s ball progression. Add on a number of tackles at the edge of England’s penalty area and all in all, It was a complete performance from the 21 year old. There aren’t many players who can say they have had a better World Cup than James.

Portugal 0 - USA 0

If England managed their first impressive performance of this World Cup in the final group game, the USA are still waiting for theirs. When Ana Capeta’s shot crashed off the post in injury time, only a piece of wood was keeping the US in the competition. A nation who had never finished below third at the tournament were inches away from exiting at the group stage.

What was particularly strange was it did not even feel like it would have been harsh. The US were on top for long portions of this match but it was hardly a battering. They finished with six shots on target and an xG of 2.4 and yet Portugal never felt truly on the edge of conceding.

Part of the US’ problem is that they just do not seem to have a midfield. Portugal played a couple of vertical passes through the combination of Andi Sullivan, Lindsay Horan and Rose Lavelle, opening up the US exactly the same way the Dutch did in their 1-1 draw. Meanwhile, they offered little on the ball. Sullivan made 15 accurate passes in the whole match as the US finished with 44% possession to Portugal’s 56%. 

The US had switched up their front three by bringing in Lynn Williams for Trinity Rodman but they struggled to get any of them into dangerous positions. Even Sophia Smith’s ability to  find space to run at defences seemed limited. 

Credit should go to Portugal here too. They used the same midfield overload that the Netherlands had to generate superiority whilst Ana Borges excelled in shutting down the US’ left flank. But ultimately, regardless of how Portugal played, there was little here to get excited about from an American perspective. Given the way Vlatko Andonovski has developed the team over the past couple of years, it also looks unlikely that that will change any time soon too.

Flying Geese Writers Room title credit: Zanna Mercer