Lauren Hemp and Alessia Russo spurred each other on and scored a goal in England's 6-1 win over China. Naomi Baker/The FA via Getty Images
They're a little taken aback by the brilliance of Lauren James' genius in destroying China, but England may have just found a strike partnership to propel them to Women's World Cup glory.
Neither Lauren Hemp nor Alessia Russo came into this tournament in better shape. Russo has not scored for England since the Arnold Clark Cup against South Korea in February. Cannabis hasn't scored since defeating the USA back in October and was left out of the starting XI for last week's game against Denmark.
One didn't feel right, the other didn't. This has changed in Adelaide. In the pair up front in a new 3-5-2 formation, they were both encouraged. Their play together was more than just a footnote in the history of a dominant team performance; that was one of the main reasons they gave China so much trouble.
Again and again Russo found Hemp and vice versa, one going deep to pick up the ball, the other running behind or working in the canals. Under normal circumstances, this would have been a double headline-grabbing performance, but another virtuoso performance by James inevitably caught the eye.
James' performances at this World Cup have become the talk of women's football, but no one should ignore how England looked better with two center forwards than one.
Lauren James' The impact was talked about at the World Cup. Credit: Andy Cheung/Getty Images
Since England reached the semi-finals of the European Championship in 2017, with Jodi Taylor and Fran Kirby working in tandem, England have not had a strike partnership capable of hurting opponents with combined moves and a natural the ability to feed each other. other.
As is often the case in football, fashions change and the trend towards the lone striker playing in front of two wingers and a number 10 prevailed under former manager Phil Neville as well as Sarina. Wigman.
But with England in contention for goals — they haven't scored twice in a game since they beat Belgium 6-1 in February — Wigman knew she needed to shake things up. What came out of the drying machine of the thoughts she must have had since an injury to Kira Walsh left her midfield playmaker was a new formation that added more bodies in midfield as well as wide-backs and a new focus in attack. .
As a lone striker, Russo appeared to be isolated, winning the ball with her back to goal, but was always forced to step back or sideways at best to find a teammate. This made England predictable and easy to contain.
With Hemp's speed by her side, it added a new dimension to her own game, and she looked like a much more menacing player as a result. Cannabis runs created space and gave Rousseau a progressive pass whenever she raised her head. But it also occupied the minds of the defenders and created space for her to act, so Russo scored England's first goal on Tuesday night.
She too began to move, taking the ball, drawing three Chinese players to her, and then slipping down the flank for Hemp to reach him. From there, she was able to run into the area and was in the perfect spot to capitalize when the Hemp Cross was only half cleared.
Training touch and completion by Russo 🤌pic.twitter.com/1wVaPK1MSH
— Telegraph Women's Sport (@WomensSport) August 1, 2023
«I enjoyed [playing two]» Russo said. “You have closer connections with the players, which is good because you have LJ [Lauren James] under you and Hempo [Lauren Hemp] next to you.
“No matter how we set ourselves up, we are always going to give it our all. I will do everything for the team, I will do what needs to be done. I'm eager to score a goal because I'm a striker, but when you play with two people, you can start this channel too, because you have another striker in the box.
Cannabis, who spent most of his career on the wing, also looked much more comfortable playing in the center with someone close to her to take on the bulk of the lag game. Her goal against China was scored when she ran through the middle of the defense with a perfect first touch, and she was just left to complete the ball past the stuck goalkeeper.
Small and large partnerships used to be commonplace in international football . and England went to the past to spice up their attack with 5ft 5in hemp and 5ft 8in Rousseau. This is a simple formula that was too complicated for the Chinese. Nigeria, who England will play in Brisbane in the round of 16 on Monday, will also be concerned.
«We know we can use this system and continue to grow and work on it,» said Rachel Daly . a club-level striker who has now played both left-back and wing-back in this tournament. “Obviously we can go back to the 4-3-3 type. It's another weapon in the arsenal.
“We haven't worked on it for very long, but Sarina always says we're adapting and that's what we've shown. It was a different formation, different style, different staff and communication without Keira… I think our team is flexible. There are many players who can play multiple positions.
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