The England full-back Lucy Bronze has urged Lauren James not to curb her attacking instincts. James played the full 90 minutes of the goalless draw with Portugal on Saturday, sparkling both ahead of Bronze on the right and then more centrally once repositioned.
Having played such a prominent role in the final home friendly before the Women’s World Cup gets under way, the 21‑year‑old James – who made her England debut last September – is likely to be a major player at the tournament.
“A lot of people from the outside put a lot of expectation as she’s so talented – and she is,” Bronze said. “But she still wants to learn, still wants to improve.
“I think because I’m obviously the experienced player she wants to get me in the game. I’m like: ‘No, you’re the winger, you’re the attacker.’ It’s nice that she wants to try and look for me but I’m trying to make things happen so that if I give her space she’ll score us a goal.
“She’s a young player so she’s still learning that role, when to be selfish and when not to be, when to make the right decision, when to go, when to shoot. I’m just there to help her find the way she should play.”
Bronze, a 105-cap veteran, is now a senior figure in Sarina Wiegman’s squad. Her leadership will be vital with the Euro 2022 winners Leah Williamson, Fran Kirby, Beth Mead, Jill Scott and Ellen White all absent either injured or retired.
But Bronze, who enjoyed a breakout 2015 World Cup, believes youth can shine: “I went into 2015 as a young player not expecting to play much – I ended up playing in every single game, scoring goals and I forced myself into the spotlight,” she said, name-checking James, Katie Robinson (20) and Esme Morgan (22).
“Anything can happen in a World Cup – we saw that last year in the Euros as well with Chloe Kelly coming on and scoring a winner in a tournament she had played very few minutes in. There’s plenty of opportunities for plenty of people to shine and have their moments. The youngsters now I think are exciting and they don’t have fear.”
England missed the captain, Millie Bright, and Jordan Nobbs on Saturday, although both hope to be fit for the World Cup opener against Haiti on 22 July. The Lionesses depart for Australia on Wednesday and face Canada in a behind-closed-doors friendly on 14 July.
