Five problems England must solve ahead of the Women's World Cup quarter-finals

The Lionesses broke a draw in the round of 16 by beating Nigeria on penalties. Photo: Reuters/Dan Peled. quarter-finals of the Women's World Cup, defeating Nigeria on penalties after Lauren James was sent off. They will now face either Colombia or Jamaica in the last eight matches on Saturday, and their poor performance in the first round of the playoffs leaves Sarina Wigman to think.

Here Telegraph Sport talks about what she has to do. next match ahead…

1. Replace Lauren James

With the Chelsea star suspended for at least the next game, someone else will now have to step in for England, not only in terms of replacing her in the starting line-up but also in terms of providing moments of individual quality and the creativity that James brings with the ball.

First in line is likely to be Manchester United playmaker Ella Thun, who excelled at last summer's European Championship but now needs to rediscover her best form at a vital moment.

2. Decide whether to stick or twist as you form them

The English 3-5-2 worked great against China, in part because of how much space it gave James with the number 10 ball, but now that she can't play Colombia or Jamaica on Saturday if Sarina Wigman returns to her more conventional 4-2-3-1 side?

If they do this, her full-backs will need to be less adventurous and leave fewer gaps behind the defensive line — Nigeria has had too much success in attacking quickly on the flanks.

Nigeria's Rashidat Ajibade takes bronze from Lucy (left) Photo: AP /Tertius Pickard 3. Move the ball faster

Too often against Nigeria, England have been slow in possession, which is something they can't afford against well organized opposition. Jamaica, in particular, has the same impressive defensive structure as Nigeria and will be hard to break.

England needs to be smarter, brighter and use their options to advance on the field.

4 . Attacking the box from six yards

The England strikers were to blame for looking a bit clumsy when crosses hit the box and will need to find their poacher instinct. The English fans should see Alessia Russo and Lauren Hemp get ahead of the marker.

5. Get more out of Georgia Stanway

The 24-year-old Bayern Munich midfielder has a lot to offer at this World Cup, and one of her best assets is her ability to land powerful shots on goal from the edge of the penalty area. However, in this tournament, England didn't seem to be able to put her in the position to do so.

Maybe her confidence dropped after she missed a penalty against Nigeria, but England will know that Stanway in shape could be the difference.