LEAH WILLIAMSON reckons England have a cheat code in Lauren James following her efforts during their 4-0 defeat of South Korea.
The forward was among the standout performers in their Arnold Clark Cup match with the team facing Italy at the CBS Arena on Sunday.
Sarina Wiegman named the Chelsea ace in her starting 11 at Stadium MK on Thursday evening with skipper Williamson playing in a deep midfield role.
And the England starlet was a menace causing South Korea problems with her smart wing play and drives into the box.
James’ performance was capped by netting the fourth goal for Wiegman’s side as they got their World Cup warm-up off to a winning start.
England captain Williamson said: “I think she’s a cheat code.
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“I enjoy being on the same team as her, when we come here.
“We have a squad that’s obviously got standards and non negotiables.
“Sarina has touched on it before about this real English mentality about how we’ve all been brought up to work hard.
“She’s trying to bring out the best of us as well and make sure that we bring the best of ourselves in the game – and somebody like Lauren is a perfect example of that.
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“The girl is incredible, so give her as much support as we can.”
The build-up to James’ 70th-minute finish was preceded by Ella Toone driving from midfield and passing to Lucy Bronze who set up the forward.
The full-back’s assist was among the high points of a night that saw her celebrated for becoming an England centurion after making 101 appearances.
Reflecting on playing on the flank with James, Bronze said: “Everyone knows the quality that LJ’s got.
“Technically on the ball she’s probably one of the best there is.
“It’s fun for me to play with her because I know she’s always going to get the ball in the right place.
“I like linking up with her. It’s crazy that she’s so young now because this is the player that everyone has been talking about for five years now.
“For the past five years everyone has been waiting for this superstar and it’s exciting to be here now at the start of her England career.
“I’m sure she’ll score plenty more goals, win plenty more player of the matches and win more games for England in the future.”
The Lionesses upcoming clash with Italy in Coventry, which kicks-off at 3:15pm on Sunday, could see Wiegman experiment with her line-up.
The England chief said: “I want to try out things. I think this tournament is really a big step in our preparation for the World Cup.
“We need to see where we are as a team and where individuals are at this moment.
“We will figure out more things and do some changes.
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“The squad has lots of depth. We have some centre-backs who can play as full-backs and (in) those positions up front is lots of competition. I can’t complain about the depth of this team.
England vs Italy in the Arnold Clark Cup can be watched live on ITV1 from 3:15pm on Sunday 19 February
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
