The assist that shows how important Lauren James is for England

Telegraph

14 hours ago

England 7-0 Jamaica
The Lionesses were already comfortable against a weakened Jamaica side when Lauren James made her long-awaited return from injury.
England were leading 4-0 when the 23-year-old entered the pitch in the 63rd minute. Ella Toone, who was taken off for James, had scored twice and strengthened her case for a starting place in the Lionesses' opening game of Euro 2025 against France on Saturday.
But then James reminded everyone why she is one of the best players in the world. With one touch she controlled Leah Williamson's pass, a second took the ball away from the defender and her third was an inch-perfect cross which was headed in by Alessia Russo at the back post.
Alessia Russo makes it FIVE! 🤩
Lauren James providing the assist ✨ #ITVFootball | @Lionesses pic.twitter.com/X1ykJIxOe1
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) June 29, 2025
It was James's first appearance since picking up a hamstring injury in England's win over Belgium in April and there had been fears she may not recover in time for the defence of their European title.
Now James is back and that can only be a good thing. But whether she will be fit enough to start the Lionesses' first game of the tournament in less than a week remains to be seen.
'We're still building her,' manager Sarina Wiegman said of James. 'She worked so hard to be where she is right now. The last two weeks we had training camps and she could do every single training session. This is the first time she could get minutes, we hope we can keep building her and then go again into France. We know there's a lot of competition going on. We will figure that out in the next couple of days.'
It may be that the team that started this warm-up game is the one lining up against France on July 5. The No 10 role and the left-back spot were the two positions which appeared most up for grabs before this match. Jess Carter, who got the nod over Niamh Charles on the left side, strengthened her case with an impressive performance, which included an assist for Lucy Bronze's goal.
Toone, who looked to be in competition for a starting berth with her Manchester United team-mate Grace Clinton more than James, also put in an excellent display with two first-half goals – her first in an England shirt since February 2024. If it is indeed James that Toone is competing with then her two goals were timely.
Decisions, decisions... 🤔
Who makes your @Lionesses starting XI for the game against France on Saturday? #ITVFootball | #WEURO2025 pic.twitter.com/7LJZfsL1XP
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) June 29, 2025
Wiegman was non-committal when asked whether the No 10 is James's best position. 'We wanted to see her there,' the England manager said. 'We know that we have some players that can play in different positions, we also know that LJ has played a lot up front, on the sides, she can play there too. She can also play in the 10. That's what I wanted to see today and see how that worked. It was something we wanted to try out. I think it went really well.'
For James and Toone to both play, it would likely see the former pushed out wide, which could put Beth Mead and Lauren Hemp at risk.
Mead, who briefly caused panic when she went down holding her knee in the closing stages, scored England's seventh goal in stoppage time. Hemp, meanwhile, is yet to play a full 90 minutes since returning from a long-term knee injury in April. But she also has the ability to provide a spark.
It's 7 (SEVEN)! 😲
Beth Mead with the icing on the cake #ITVFootball | @Lionesses pic.twitter.com/ilK55IXdeJ
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) June 29, 2025
The competition for places may give Wiegman a few headaches in the coming days but it is undoubtedly a good problem to have.
Jamaica, who are 35 places below England in the Fifa rankings, were without many of their strongest players, including Manchester City striker Khadija Shaw and the experienced Drew Spence and Taylor Hinds. Yet they did have the ball in the net in the first half when they punished some sloppy England defending from a set-piece. But a VAR review showed Kiki Van Zanten was offside and was adjudged to have interfered with play when Kayla McKenna's deflected shot went underneath Hannah Hampton.
While the goal was disallowed, it was a reminder that England have a tendency to switch off at the back. Still, on the whole it was a successful night for the Lionesses. Georgia Stanway, who was making her first start since January, also scored in the second half, as did substitute Aggie Beever-Jones.
The Lionesses will undoubtedly face tougher tests than this at the Euros given they are in a group containing France, the Netherlands and Wales. As Wiegman said: 'We know next week we have to take our game to the next level.'
England (4-3-3): Hampton 7; Bronze 7 (Charles 75), Williamson 7, Greenwood 7 (Morgan 63), Carter 8; Walsh 7 (Clinton 75), Stanway 8, Toone 8 (James 63); Mead 7, Russo 7 (Beever-Jones 75) , Hemp 7 (Kelly 63).
Subs not used: Moorhouse, Keating, Le Tissier, Wubben-Moy, Park, Agyemang
Goals: Toone 10, 45+4, Bronze 32, Stanway 59, Russo 71, Beever-Jones 85, Mead 90+6
Jamaica (4-4-2): Brooks 4; A Van Zanten 4, A Swaby 3 (Cardoza 45), C Swaby 4, Cameron 4, K Van Zanten 4 (Blades 63); Igleton 4 (Bailey 89), Primus 4 (Thomas 63), Simmonds 4 (Walker 89); Adamolekun 4 (Sampson HT), McKenna 4.
Subs not used: Morgan, Mensah, Mitchell