‘She has something special’: Lucy Bronze rates Lauren James among Europe’s best | OneFootball

Lucy Bronze says Lauren James has got “something special” about her after the forward opened England’s account against the Netherlands in style on Wednesday night.

“We know we just need to get LJ the ball in dangerous positions and there could be a goal from anything,” said the right-back. “She’s probably the best player in this entire tournament for being able to create something special. There’s a lot of special players in this tournament, the likes of Putellas and Bonmati, a huge number of talented players, but LJ’s got that something special. She’s only young, she’s not at 100% yet, so hopefully we get through the tournament and she just keeps getting better and better.”

James was the focus in the build up to England’s 4-0 defeat of the Dutch. Sarina Wiegman’s decision to experiment with the forward in the No 10 role for the 2-1 loss to France in the opening game of the group hadn’t paid off, the structure of the midfield lost to accommodate England’s brightest and most dynamic star.

Returned to the position she operated in at the 2023 World Cup, in front of Bronze on the right, she was unplayable. So unplayable that left back Esme Brugts, left-sided centre-back Veerle Buurman and left-sided forward Jill Roord all made way at half-time.

“Playing with Lauren James you know that people are going to have to probably change something at some point because she’s so dangerous, and she’s not even at 100% yet,” said Bronze. “So, I’m sure a lot of the left backs in this tournament, or right backs, wherever she plays, will not be wanting to see that Lauren James shirt coming up against them because she’s that frightening.”

It was James who opened the scoring at the Stadion Letzigrund, easing fears of a possible early tournament exit for the holders. Goalkeeper Hannah Hampton was the instigator, her sublime ball through the entire Dutch team found Alessia Russo and the forward played in James on the edge of the box who took a controlling touch and two more to move her into space before sweeping a powerful effort past Daphne van Domselaar.

“Unbelievable finish from LJ, left and right footed, she’s unbelievable, so give her the ball and that’s what she’ll do,” said Chloe Kelly.

Russo said: “We see her do that in training all the time. When you give her the ball in those kinds of areas you know she can hit it off both feet, I want to find LJ in those areas as much as I can, we all do. She’s a special player and a great talent.”

James’s second was England’s third, it was less pretty but no less clinical, with Russo having swiped and missed and Ella Toone’s effort coming back off a defender before James stroked it in.

It is her strength that makes her such a talent, said Bronze: “She’s so strong. She’s built really strong, has that power in her legs that you don’t see from many female footballers. I think that’s something that me and her both speak about a lot. That’s been a big attribute of my game in the past, being really powerful and strong. She’s got that and she has the technique to add to it when it comes to shooting and crossing and anything she wants.”

England overcame a big hurdle against the Dutch, ensuring that progression remains in their hands. A win against Wales on Sunday would be enough to send England into the quarter-finals. Asked about the comments from a rampant Spain about England being the tournament favourites, Bronze was dismissive.

“They’re just trying to put different pressures on different teams,” she said. “Everybody wants to pass that label on to somebody else to not make too much noise around them. It’s the same for us. We want to just be present in what we’ve got to do. We’ve not even got through the group yet, whereas many teams have already qualified.”

Header image: [Photograph: Matthew Childs/Reuters]