Lauren James backed to lead England past Wales and into Euro 2025 knockouts

Lauren James was one of the stars of the show in England’s 4-0 victory over the Netherlands at Euro 2025, wasting little time getting back to her best after a lengthy-lay-off.

The Chelsea star missed the run-in after picking up a hamstring injury in early April, but returned to action at the end of June when the Lionesses beat Jamaica in their final friendly before the tournament.

There were flashes of quality in the defeat against France, but the second group game really showed why manager Sarina Wiegman has been so eager to incorporate James in her starting XI as soon as possible after that injury setback.

“You get the best out of LJ when she is expressive,” team-mate Alex Greenwood said. "She is a top talent - we have seen that. As a more experienced player, it is my job to protect her.

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"We do that really well, but I think the focus is about the team.The team help Lauren to perform at the highest level."

Wiegman also stressed the importance of support from the whole collective saying: “I rate her very high, as with many other players in my team.

“She’s a very good player and I think… she’s playing to her strengths and she’s doing that very well but the team are supporting her very well too.

“She’s supporting the team too and I think that’s what it’s all about. Off the pitch she’s just herself. A little bit introverted but she just loves football.”

The margin of victory over the Netherlands last time out means a win by any scoreline in St Gallen on Sunday will see the Lionesses progress.

Whether they go through as group winners or as runners-up will also depend on the result between France and the Netherlands in Basel, but England are focusing on their own responsibilities first and foremost.

“I hope we will see a game where we have a lot of the ball, and we play very well in-possession, so we don’t let it come into a fighting game,” she said.

“Wales has a team that’s very compact, they can fight, they’re really together, but also when they have the ball they can play direct but they sometimes want to play too, and we are just trying to prevent that, and the best way to do that is to be good on the ball yourself and move the ball very quickly, and try to exploit spaces.”

The rivalry element could add extra spice, and Wales captain Angharad James-Turner let out a laugh when asked directly whether, as a Welsh woman, she took motivation from wanting to knock out the holders.

“Of course you do,” the midfielder said. “It’s in our blood, it’s in our DNA, and the rivalry has always been and always will be there.

“But you have to come back to the occasion, and this is just another game of football. It’s a 90-minute game plus, and hopefully we can perform in a better way than we did against France."

Wales manager Rhian Wilkinson, meanwhile, didn’t beat around the bush when asked about their opponents going into the game with more pressure.

“It’s just fact, and I think that is the pressure of a big nation,” she said. “They come with the expectation… where they’ve won it now.”