England manager Sarina Wiegman has opted not to restore Lauren James to the starting XI as the Lionesses face Spain in the 2023 Women’s World Cup final.
James is available once more after serving a two-game suspension following a red card for a regrettably stepping on an opponent in petty fashion during the last 16 with Nigeria.
There had been concerns that FIFA could upgrade the automatic one-game ban to three, which would have seen the 21-year-old ruled out of the rest of the tournament. But James was arguably fortunate that her suspension was only increased to two matches.
The Chelsea youngster had been England’s most important player in the group stage wins over Denmark and China, scoring twice and assisting three goals against the latter alone. But she was marked out of the Nigeria clash, which led to frustration getting the better of her.
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Ella Toone, who had started against Haiti and Denmark, but was later dropped in a reshuffle, got the nod to return in James’ absence and made the made of that opportunity in the semi-final in particular by scoring a spectacular goal that fired England into the lead.
With everyone fit and available going into the final the final against Spain, which guarantees a brand new name on the trophy for the first time since the inaugural World Cup in 1991, was whether Toone would keep that place or if James would come back in.
Wiegman opted for the former, naming James on the bench. Her Lionesses team is the same one that started the semi-final against Australia, with a back three of Jess Carter, Millie Bright and Alex Greenwood in front of goalkeeper Mary Earps. Lucy Bronze and Rachel Daly flank a midfield duo of Georgia Stanway and Keira Walsh, with Toone slightly further forward. Lauren Hemp and Alessia Russo partner each other up front for the fifth consecutive game at the tournament.
James will be an option off the bench, as will Euro 2022 hero Chloe Kelly.
WATCH THE WOMEN’S WORLD CUP FINAL PREVIEW EDITION OF 90MIN TALKS
Rachel & Sophie from Girls On The Ball chat with Alex Ibaceta for this extra special episode of 90min Talks, discussing the semi-finals which saw The Lionesses beat hosts Australia and look ahead at the historic World Cup final.
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