Reece James told sister Lauren is "a better finisher than me" by ex-Chelsea star

01 August 2023 , 17:37

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Reece James told sister Lauren is "a better finisher than me" by ex-Chelsea star

Michy Batshuayi has joked that Lauren James is a better finisher than him after the Lioness scored twice for England in their 6-1 win over China at the Women's World Cup.

Lauren, 21, struck a brace as England booked their place in the last-16 of the tournament. Alessia Russo, Lauren Hemp, Chloe Kelly and Rachel Daly also found the net for the Lionesses at the Hindmarsh Stadium. It meant England topped their group and will face Nigeria in the knockout stages next Monday.

But James would steal the headlines after she produced another impeccable performance, grabbing three assists as well as her two goals. James' first strike was impressive as she curled the ball into the corner from the edge of the box, but her second was even better.

She hit the ball first time on the volley with her weaker left foot into the bottom corner. It was a strike of pure class from the midfielder, who is showing why Sarina Wiegman picked her. However, ex-Chelsea star Batshuayi could not help but poke fun at himself after the match.

"Damn Lauren's got a better finish than me bro," Batshuayi wrote on social media while also including Reece's Twitter handle. He also added: "Honestly I've seen 2 games only but she's very very good."

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Lauren moved to Chelsea in 2021 after a three-year stay at Manchester United, where she helped them win promotion to the Women's Super League. During her time at the Blues, Lauren has scored nine times in 45 appearances and helped Emma Hayes' side retain the title last season.

Lauren James celebrates after scoring for England against China (Getty Images)

As for the Lionesses, they have a six-day wait for their next fixture. Speaking after her side's win, Wiegman said: "I think we are growing into this tournament. I think tonight we had a great performance. Of course we made a choice and went for it.

"Everyone really believed in it [the formation] straight away and you could see that on the pitch. They were really excited about it. We want to use the qualities of the squad as optimal as possible. The team showed they were really adaptable.

"I think you could see from the whole team that we were enjoying ourselves, you could tell that we were really connected, the ball is going around and we have different ways to go in attack, and of course Lauren James was one of them when she scored the goals. You saw that the team was enjoying every goal, except the one from China."

Kieran King