Tottenham Women striker Bethany England and the Lionesses qualify for World Cup last 16
England thrashed China in their final Group D match to maintain their 100 per cent record and qualify for the knockout phase of the tournament.
Sarina Wiegman’s side defeated China 6-1 on Tuesday 1 August thanks to goals from Alessia Russo, Lauren Hemp, Lauren James, Rachel Daly and Chloe Kelly.
James provided three assists as well as scoring twice in what was a sensational individual performance from the Chelsea forward.
After back-to-back sluggish 1-0 wins, this was a much more complete and exciting performance by the European champions, as they swept away China, who are ranked 14th in the FIFA Women’s World Rankings, with ease.
Denmark’s 2-0 victory over Haiti in the other match in Group D on 1 August means the European nation has qualified alongside the English in second place.
England will have raised some alarm bells in other nations’ camps with this emphatic performance as they now get set to take on Nigeria in their first knockout match on Monday 7 August.
And they did it without star midfielder Kiera Walsh after the Barcelona star was injured in the country’s win over Denmark.
Once again, Spurs star Bethany England was able to get on the pitch and play some minutes as she made her second appearance from the bench at the competition.
In the 71st minute, the Tottenham striker came on, replacing Russo as she did against Denmark, and made herself busy, completing 82 per cent of her passes with two of them being key and attempting two dribbles while making 14 touches overall (Sofascore).
With the Lionesses’ journey set to continue at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, England will be hoping that she can get onto the pitch and make an impact during the business end of the competition and write her name in the history books.
She joins Luana Buhler as the other confirmed Spurs star to make it out of the groups so far, with Drew Spence, Rebecca Spencer and Rosella Ayane all still looking to join them.
In other Tottenham News, an exciting name has been linked with the striker position for the men’s side.