England‘s Women’s World Cup hopes were dealt a hammer blow after Keira Walsh injured her knee during the group stage match against Denmark.
Walsh was stretching to reach a pass in the 35th minute when her right knee buckled and gave way. The midfielder immediately signalled to the bench and was carried off on a stretcher, close to tears.
The Lionesses, who were leading 1-0 at half-time in this game with Denmark, have already been hit hard by injuries building up to this World Cup.
Captain Leah Williamson, forward Beth Mead and playmaker Fran Kirby have all missed the tournament due to knee injuries and England will be fearing the worst with Walsh.
Minutes after Walsh’s injury, Mead tweeted “Keira” with a broken-heart emoji.
Walsh was replaced by Manchester City midfielder Laura Coombs, with Georgia Stanway forced to sit deep and try to replace what Walsh does. In the second-half, the 26-year-old made her way to the bench to watch while walking on crutches.
Walsh’s injury overshadowed what was otherwise a bright first-half from England this morning.
Lauren James announced herself at the World Cup with a stunning goal, as the Lionesses looked to put one foot in the knockout stage.
James was handed a start by Sarina Wiegman here in Sydney and put her team in front with a curled effort from outside the box after just six minutes.
After beating Haiti 1-0 in their opening Group D game, England kicked off against the Danes knowing a victory would secure them a spot in the last-16 provided China fail to beat Haiti.
Wiegman said in the build-up to this match she was not afraid to make changes, and she was true to her word.
James was one of two from the England boss, with Rachel Daly also coming into the team to play left-back.
James was expected to start after the Lionesses’ attack failed to fire against Haiti last week and she replaced Lauren Hemp.
Daly’s inclusion, however, was a shock as she was picked at left-back. The 31-year-old played that position last year in the Euros, when Wiegman named the same team for every game, but this season she played as a forward for Aston Villa and was top scorer in the Women’s Super League.
Keira 😭💔
— Beth Mead MBE (@bmeado9) July 28, 2023
Daly impressed in the first-half here at left-back, setting up James’ goal, and her switch there allowed Alex Greenwood to move to centre-back, with Jess Carter losing her place.
Greenwood’s move to centre-back meant England played out from defence more and they had 78 per cent possession in the first-half.
The only fear for the Lionesses was that they could be hit on the counter and Denmark went close through Rikke Madsen, Janni Thomsen and Pernille Harder.
