Four words that threaten to derail England’s World Cup tumbled out of the mouth of Keira Walsh as the medical staff raced towards her: “I’ve done my knee.”
England were cruising against Denmark, Lauren James’s majestic touch and strike having given the Lionesses an early lead. That proved enough to secure victory, but the rest of the match was coloured by the crushing injury to the influential Barcelona midfielder.
Sarina Wiegman’s squad had already been cruelly stripped of the Euro 2022 captain, Leah Williamson, and that tournament’s Golden Boot winner, Beth Mead, to anterior cruciate ligament injuries. Fran Kirby also missed out on the World Cup due to a knee injury.
With Ellen White having retired, the only remaining vertebrae in England’s spine was Walsh, and she was perhaps the most crucial.
The 26-year-old is arguably irreplaceable. She is central to England’s buildup play and defensive strength. For years, a stand-in for the visionary passer has been sought, with Williamson trialled in the role for both club and country – and, while Williamson has proved effective, she is no Walsh.
White, working as a BBC pundit during the game, spoke of Walsh’s importance at the Euros last year. “Everything came through Keira. There wasn’t a plan B. I dreaded to think of us ever losing her because she was one of our best players. Beth Mead was scoring all the goals, but all of our play came through Keira. She was the key cog, everything moved through her. I just don’t know who England are going to have now in that [defensive midfield] role.”
In the 35th minute Walsh stretched towards the ball and her boot caught in the turf, jarring her right leg and sending her crumbling to the ground. She knew instantly what was wrong and, as Lucy Bronze and Georgia Stanway raced to her side, the stunned midfielder could be seen saying “get off, get off” before TV cameras showed her breaking the news about her knee to the approaching medical team.
Walsh was carried off, seemingly overcome with emotion as she lay on her back and reality set in. The Manchester City midfielder Laura Coombs came on as her replacement.
The 32-year-old Coombs had not played for England since 2015 but was named in Wiegman’s squad for the Arnold Clark Cup in February, coming on as a substitute against South Korea and then starting against Italy, after impressing with City.
Stanway dropped deeper to fill the hole left by Walsh but with the Bayern Munich midfielder on a booking from England’s win against Haiti in their Group D opener, she is one yellow card away from missing a game that the team cannot afford her to miss.
The Lionesses had started so brightly in front of an overwhelmingly England-supporting crowd at the Sydney Football Stadium. Wiegman made two changes to the starting lineup, with Rachel Daly moved into the left-back berth she occupied during the Euros, despite finishing the WSL season top scorer as Aston Villa’s striker. Alex Greenwood shifted in alongside Millie Bright as a result, with Jess Carter on the bench, while Lauren Hemp made way for James.
The impact of the changes – rare under Wiegman, who stuck with the same starting XI through the Euros last year – was instant. With Daly driving forward from the left, it allowed James to cut inside and almost become a second No 10 alongside Ella Toone, while Greenwood was far more effective at playing out from the back more centrally.
Just six minutes in the newcomers combined to give England a lead and heavily hint that Wiegman had finally found her best starting XI for the tournament. The ball was worked wide to Daly who fed James and the Chelsea player powered forward before lashing the ball past Lene Christensen into the far corner. It was an emphatic announcement on the world stage from the 21-year-old, who has long been heralded as the most technically talented England footballer since Kelly Smith.
England continued to dominate possession and look threatening, while Denmark struggled to find Pernille Harder, who began the game as a striker, leaving her isolated. They threatened periodically though, capitalising on lapses in concentration from the England players.
The injury to Walsh did not shift momentum, but it did flatten the play and rip up the tournament gameplan. James looked bright throughout, however, and the introduction of Hemp and Bethany England in place of Toone and Alessia Russo injected a little energy back into Wiegman’s side.
Amalie Vangsgaard, who scored in Denmark’s win over China, crashed a header off a post with five minutes remaining, leaving English nerves frayed, but Wiegman’s side had done just enough.
It was a resilient performance in the face of adversity. How they move forward without Walsh, however, will be the biggest concern. If there was no plan B at the Euros, hopefully there is now, although no surgery on earth can fix an entirely removed spine.
