16 February 2023 , 23:57
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England boss Sarina Wiegman labelled the Stadium MK pitch "unacceptable" despite the Lionesses cruising to a win over Korea Republic to kickstart their Arnold Clark Cup campaign.
The tournament hosts produced an impressive display to ease past Korea Republic 4-0, with Lauren James producing a dominant display. Georgia Stanway's penalty had broken the deadlock shortly before half-time, with Chloe Kelly, Alessia Russo and James herself adding a fourth towards the end.
England were impressive once Stanway had given them the lead and began to open up the Asian Cup runners-up on a regular basis, creating numerous chances. Although it was close to a perfect night for the European Champions, Wiegman was critical of the Stadium MK pitch, which cut up badly as the game went on.
"I think the pitch was unacceptable," she said. "This is a wonderful stadium but the pitch was terrible.
"It is hard because when their (Korea Republic) block is so deep, you want to speed up the game and we couldn't do that on the pitch.
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"We can't play on a pitch like this any more, at this level, it is unacceptable."
Wiegman brought Russo and James into the forward line, while Leah Williamson was deployed in midfield in the first half as the Lionesses, produced an excellent display. Although Wiegman doesn't traditionally single out individuals for praise, she said she was delighted to see James in such good form and said that England were reaping the rewards.
“She (Lauren James) is a huge talent,” added Wiegman. “I think we have lots of talented players in this team, in attacking areas which is nice. She can dribble really well.
“This year has played a lot more and she feels good, she has worked really hard at Chelsea. I hope now she has consistency, stays fit and keeps enjoying herself.
"She has been a talent for a long time and just needed to be available. You can see the hard work she has put in this season and now she can take the next step for the national team.
"I think we did really well as a team. There were opportunities to break those lines and it was nice to see Lauren do that."
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