Spain and England will meet in the World Cup final on Sunday at 1 p.m. ‘s live broadcast of the match starts at 12:15 p.m. on TV2, Areena and the app.
While the rest of the team celebrated on the field the first place in the World Cup finals in the history of the women’s national team, Lauren James lurked in the corridors of the stadium.
In the end, photographers found him hugging his teammates – guaranteed to be relieved.
Two matches earlier, James had been bumped badly. Stepping on the Nigerian player’s back, which appeared to be intentional, resulted in a red card and suspension. The act threatened to put a stamp on the young player’s otherwise wonderful tournament.
– I am sorry about what happened. To the England fans and my teammates, I want to say that playing for you and with you is the greatest honor and I promise to learn from my experience,” James wrote on Twitter in response to his tally To Michelle Aloziewho took the situation lightly from the beginning.
The Nigeria game is the only blemish on James’ otherwise perfect rise to the top.
In his case, the peak really means the brightest peak, because at the latest this year, the international media has really started to put pressure on James’ shoulders to even become the best player in the world.
– As a rule, he has shown his best in these games. He is extremely good at playing between the lines in a tight space. He can play in the middle or on the wing because he is excellent with the ball – to turn, change direction and hide his choices, Urheilu’s expert Jonne Kunnas enumerates.
– Then we get to the passing and kicking selection, which is fantastic. He opens the leg and kicks with a twist to the back corner. He is also able to finish from very different balls and is therefore unpredictable.
As well as England’s head coach Sarina Wiegman that Chelsea colleague Emma Hayes have given freedoms and responsibilities at an appropriate pace. An even more significant role opened up from the England national team when voted the second best player in the world Beth Mead and praised at last year’s European Championships Fran Kirby were injured.
On Sunday, James was seen on the field again when England met Spain in the World Cup final.
When James was in the starting line-up for the first time at the World Cup, he immediately scored a goal in the Danish net. The second time, he knocked out China almost single-handedly. He made history through England’s national teams as the first player to be involved in five goals in the same World Cup match. The hat trick missed the video review.
The power markings of the four matches of the tournament are three goals and the other three assists that led to goals.
England celebrated winning the European Championships last summer a month before James’ senior national team debut. Now he is coaching’s golden key to unlocking playful locks, and the magician that the captain of the national team Leah Williamson described as a “cheat code”.
– Watching the European Championship final, I really wanted to make sure that I was there this summer. It gave me a little more motivation and hunger. I want to experience what they experienced last year, James said at a press conference.
Effortless superiority
It’s no surprise that a key player in both the England women’s and men’s national teams carries the James surname.
Father Nigel James played in the lower leagues of England, but found his calling when he founded his own academy.
Chelsea defender, and current captain, Reece James was born just before the turn of the millennium. Chelsea forward James was born just under two years later, almost perfectly as a yardmate. The siblings are completed by an older brother who is a few years older.
The number of repetitions tells you how easy it looks to play James. In the World Cup, he has shown that he can finish stylish “Urheiluruutu goals” without even a flicker of expression.
– Effortlessness is a good description. Some players seem clichéd to have experience playing small games somewhere in yards and streets. It seems as if you don’t think too much about the performance, which makes it look so light or easy, says Kunnas.
As Hollywood as it sounds, for years James was too good to find a suitable place even in the biggest clubs in London.
He was an ambidextrous player and confident on the ball already at the age of under 10 when he trained with older players at Chelsea’s Academy. There was no point in playing yet because James was too young.
The next club was Arsenal, whose women’s representative team training James was brought up to at the age of 14. She made her debut for Arsenal’s women’s team as the second youngest player and played a few first-team matches for the team.
In one of England’s best teams, the rise was also viewed with dismay.
– Suddenly, a 14-year-old girl was training with 35- and 28-year-old women. They play football on the field, but outside of it they had nothing in common. People saw the little girl. Some could handle it and put a hand on his shoulder. The others couldn’t do it and said he didn’t belong there, he belonged at school, Nigel dad recalled in the summer.
When a suitable box could not be found, Manchester United entered the picture at the perfect time. The team was coached Casey Stoneywho in his last playing years had time to see James’ first steps in Arsenal training and was amazed.
– He was incredible. Technical and strong. He could take the ball and turn either way. He was able to be explosive and create space. He was able to spin the opposing player in ways I didn’t even know were possible, Stoney said For The Athletic.
The operation of United’s women’s representative team began in its current form only in 2018. The journey had to start from the second league level, for which James was far too good. The team lost only one match during the season and secured promotion to the English Super League in good time. James, on the other hand, played 18 matches and scored 14 goals in them.
– Without that transfer, I probably wouldn’t be at this point. Some people saw it as a step down because I went down the ladder, but sometimes it gives you an opportunity to move forward, James Has said.
After promotion, James scored United’s first goal in the Super League and was the team’s top scorer of the season. It became clear that United was no longer a high-quality playing environment either.
Two years ago, it was time to return home, when the age and experience were acceptable. Chelsea, which dominates the Super League, made a contract with its former academy player, which is to develop the now 21-year-old player closer and closer to the brightest stars of the sport.
According to the British media, the transfer amount was the biggest ever between two English women’s teams up to that point.
– The path has been reasonable. He quickly became an important part of ManU’s project and got into a good environment there. The current characteristics were already visible then, but the past year has already been quite a flight in terms of power and attacking play in general, Jonne Kunnas sums up.
Back to the limelight
The last week and a half has been the hardest test of James’ career.
On the field, he is a natural talent, but off-field situations have not been able to be practiced again and again since early childhood.
James is usually reserved and shy in public, and prefers not to give interviews. He had been heard about in the British media for a long time, but the clubs deliberately put a wall between the teenage player and the media.
Now it has been more difficult. James has been in the middle of the publicity he hates and will be released from his two-match suspension for England’s women’s most important match of the season. He has been spotted during his suspension Ella Toonewith which England has progressed to the World Cup final.
Kunnas understands head coach Wiegman’s difficult position when preparing the game plan for the final match.
– I usually support the fact that the best play, but this case somehow involves a particularly high amount of mental burden and charge. That’s why I’m wondering if it would be easier for the team to play and for James himself to come off the bench and change the game at that point?
Fortunately for James, England won the first knockout round match against Nigeria on penalties. If the road had stood up so early and underpowered, the player who received the red card would probably have been the target of a merciless robbery.
Instead, he has gotten away with far less than that David Beckham, whose fatal red card at the men’s 1998 World Cup has been compared to James’ stunt. Beckham was involved in a gruesome robbery, but still had a great career as a popular advertising face.
There is a similar human liberation reconciled in some sources also for James.
Now he has the opportunity to clean up his image in one fell swoop. If Wiegman trusts his team’s second youngest player even in the final game, James is at the same time one of the most likely heroes. However, the pressure situation is exceptional.
– If I watch only game performances, I put James on the field. He is simply a better player. However, there is much more to this, because the pressure from England is so strong on him, says Kunnas.
You can find everything about the World Cup in football: Competition news, topics, Futistietäjä, program, results and statistics on ‘s World Cup website.