da dobrowin： The Lionesses star was involved in five goals as they beat China on Tuesday, her night in Adelaide the latest stand-out display on a growing list
da cassino online： The greatest individual performance from an England player at a Men's or Women's World Cup. That was what Lauren James produced in Adelaide on Tuesday as the Lionesses beat China 6-1 to win Group D and set up a last-16 tie with Nigeria, the Chelsea star scoring two beautiful goals while also providing three assists on a truly remarkable night for the player and her team.
James has been stealing the show ever since she was 16 years old. Showing glimpses of her talent after coming through Arsenal's youth ranks, she firmly asserted herself as the brightest talent in English football while with Manchester United and has only enhanced her reputation while playing at the highest level for Chelsea – and now, England.
Her performance against China was the latest in a long list of outstanding outings in what looks set to be a long and successful career in the sport for this 21-year-old superstar. Let GOAL take you through some of the moments that have defined James' young career to date and helped her ascend to the very top…
GettyJoining Manchester United
Arsenal are the most successful club in the history of English women's football. They've been the biggest club in the game for some time, too, and certainly were when James was coming through the youth ranks in north London, making sporadic appearances in the 2017-18 season as a 16-year-old.
But in the summer of 2018, she made a huge decision. She left the club and moved some 200 miles up north to join Manchester United, a club that was relaunching its women's team and would play in the Championship in the upcoming season.
Casey Stoney was to be the head coach and she knew all about James, having trained with her while she was a player at Arsenal. "She has the possibility to be the best player in the world," Stoney wrote in her column for earlier this week. "I said that to her at 16."
Under the former England international, the teenager would thrive, marking her competitive debut for the club with the only goal of the game as the Red Devils beat Liverpool and also netting twice on her league debut.
"It was weird at first," James said recently. "I was young, I was 16, it allowed me to – well, without making that move, I think I probably wouldn’t be where I am now. People would say it was a step back because I went to the Championship, but sometimes it allows you to go steps forward, and maybe I wouldn’t be here without that move.”
AdvertisementGettyMaking her mark in the Championship
James excelled in the Championship and in no game was that more evident than when United beat Crystal Palace 7-0, with the teenage forward scoring four of those goals.
She turned her marker inside out three times for the first, burst past three opponents to score her second from an angle in the box, anticipated Charlie Devlin's cross well to head in her hat-trick and then burst through the Palace defence to finish – on her second attempt – for four.
It was a performance that really emphasised that James was ready for the next level and she was about to go to it, as this win sealed the Championship title and with it, promotion to the Women's Super League.
Writing her name into the history books
It didn't take long for James to make her mark in the WSL. United started with two really tough games, against regular Champions League participants Manchester City and Arsenal, and would lose both by narrow 1-0 scorelines.
But the visit of Liverpool in their third league match provided them with a chance to bounce back and it was James who broke the deadlock late in the second half. Picking the ball up in the box, she coolly sidestepped her marker before smashing the ball into the back of the net.
It was the club's first ever WSL goal, her first ever WSL goal and one that set them on their way to their first ever WSL win.
Finding form in the WSL
It's one thing to score the odd goal at the highest level, but during that 2019-20 season, James showed real rhythm and form, finding her feet well in the WSL at the age of 18.
Her two goals, and the penalty she won for the other goal, against Everton in a 3-1 win in December were a real marker of that. It meant the teenager had netted six goals in six games for the club, the hype around her really starting to grow as every week passed.
They were different goals, too, James showing her instincts in the penalty area to tap in the first before producing what's becoming a trademark for the brace, leaving a defender for dead before firing into the back of the net from the edge of the box.