England made it through to the World Cup quarter-finals by the skin of their teeth after beating Nigeria 4-2 on penalties after star attacker Lauren James was shown a straight red card for violent conduct.
Despite James being on the pitch 87 minutes, James and her teammates failed to dazzle like they did in their thumping 6-1 win over China in their final group match while using the same 3-4-1-2 system. James stole the show that day with two goals and three assists and her absence in the quarter-finals will undoubtedly be a huge absence in the Lionesses’ next fixture, which will be against either Colombia or Jamaica.
This will certainly give boss Sarina Wiegman a headache as to how to line up her squad on their next outing. They have lost one of the most creative players in the squad who is unlikely to feature for the remainder of this tournament if England were to make it to the final, and of course they headed into the World Cup without Euro 2022 star Beth Mead.
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Fran Kirby also wasn’t fit in time to make it into the squad and the three of them are the standout profiles to be deployed in the role James has occupied in the last two fixtures. Wiegman doesn’t have a well-equipped understudy to thrive in the free roaming role which could mean that there may be another system change in the offing.
Wiegman could opt to return to the 4-3-3 shape that she has predominantly used throughout her reign as England boss, and England started their World Cup campaign with his formation against both Haiti and Denmark.
The Dutch coach will be relieved that star midfielder Keira Walsh has made a swift return to action, 10 days after being stretchered off the pitch against the Danes with a knee injury. The Barcelona star then went on to play 120 minutes against Nigeria which is just remarkable. She was taken off due to cramp but Wiegman has already said it is nothing to be concerned about.
So there is a chance that England could revert to the midfield that started their opener against Haiti in Walsh, Ella Toone and Georgia Stanway, if Wiegman feels to go back to familiarity for the next game. Toone’s energy and versatility makes her come to mind as the obvious choice to come back into the side to replace James, but it remains to be seen which role she might have in the midfield.
The 4-3-3 lineup is a shape these players know well since Wiegman took the job in 2021 and despite not blowing teams away, they posted victories over both Haiti and Denmark in the group stage.
At the same time, it would be a shame to change from the system after we saw the wing-back roles, filled by Rachel Daly and Lucy Bronze, cause numerous problems for China just two matches ago. The balance both players have for their defensive and offensive work sees them as huge assets to the Lionesses in that particular shape.
Wiegman will have a few days to decide how to approach the quarter-final and that also provides a chance for players who have not yet been given many minutes this tournament to try and get their way into her starting lineup. It is not yet known whether England will be facing Colombia or Jamaica but one thing we know for definite is that they each cannot be underestimated.
Colombia stunned two-time champions Germany while Jamaica managed to keep out fellow top-10 nations France and Brazil. Both these teams will give the Lionesses much to think about ahead of Saturday and Wiegman will be paying close attention to their round of 16 clash on Tuesday. Only once that tie is decided will she start to get a clear picture of how best to set-up her side in the quarter-final.
