‘What dreams are made of’ – Lauren James on cloud nine after inspiring England into World Cup knockouts

Lauren James said England’s thumping 6-1 win over China was “what dreams are made of” after putting in a virtuoso display to send the Lionesses into the last 16 of the Women’s World Cup.

Chelsea forward James scored two goals and bagged a hat-trick of assists to ensure the European champions finished top of Group D with a perfect nine points.

The 21-year-old was close to finishing the game with three goals, but had a sublime effort ruled out for offside following a VAR review – not that it dampened her spirits.

“It's what dreams are made of. Happy for the team; everyone is buzzing. We are looking forward to the next round,” James told ITV.

"I felt free. Whether I'm on the wing or in the middle, I'm happy to be playing and contributing to goals.”

James has made a name for herself on the biggest stage at the World Cup, scoring a late winner in a 1-0 win over Denmark before her dazzling display against China.

"Like last game, I just thought 'hit it and see what happens',” she said.

“It was frustrating [to have a goal disallowed] but those things happen. I'm just looking forward to the next one.

“Each game, I'm looking to get better and there are many more years of improvement. I just have to stay focused."

England progressed as group winners with a perfect record of three wins from three against Haiti, Denmark and China.

They will face Nigeria in the last 16 and manager Sarina Wiegman was happy to head into the knockouts on the back of her side’s best performance of the tournament so far.

"I said before the game we had to do things a little different than we did before. We did really well it shows how adaptive we are on the pitch,” Wiegman said.

"Today it went really well. We want to use the qualities we have now and today it worked really well."

On James’ performance, Wiegman added: “She feels good, you can tell. She did special things today. Unfortunately, that one goal was cancelled. She flows over the pitch.”

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