Lauren James tipped for Women's World Cup Golden Boot as key quality highlighted
Lauren James. Is there any other name taking the Women’s World Cup by as large and ubiquitous a storm as the Chelsea starlet?
The answer is no. Or, really, the answer is Lauren James for whatever question is posed for the tournament’s remainder.
The 21-year-old has two Player of the Match awards from two starts. She is the first England player, men’s or women’s, to register five goal involvements in a single World Cup match. She has a better finish than Michy Batshuayi, not to mention three goals and three assists from three World Cup matches and an indisputable work of the sublime buried somewhere in FIFA’s box of contentious VAR decisions.
That the Lionesses ’ World Cup hopes seemingly rest on the shoulders of a player who was not included in their triumphant Euro 2022 squad last summer, and has never featured at a major tournament full stop, is a fact of reality that feels almost bent at this point in time.
Yet, those who have paid close attention to James in her rise to the top are feeling anything but surprised.
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“She’s a phenomenal player, a talent that I’ve been well aware of since the age of 14,” England’s most-capped player Fara Williams told the Mirror as part of McDonald’s Women's World Cup screening event in Spinningfields Manchester.
“Every week in the WSL, I try to find the words…new words, to describe her. Though it’s becoming quite difficult.”
With three goals, James currently sits joint-second in the race for the Golden Boot, behind Japan’s Hinata Miyazawa and Germany’s Alexandra Popp.
But with Popp and Germany's premature exit from the tournament's group stages alongside heavyweights Brazil, the race for the Golden Boot is beginning to take shape nicely for the Lioness.
James boasts three goals alongside Brazil’s Ary Borges, France’s Kadidiatou Diani, Noway’s Sophie Haug, Sweden’s Amanda Ilestedt and Netherlands’ Jill Rooad.
If two or more players finish on the same number of goals, the Golden Boot will be determined by assists and then on minutes played.
And with three assists so far, James is on a bright trajectory to tuck yet another accolade under her belt.
Aitch, Lioness Fara Williams and former Love Island contestant Tom Clare attend a screening in Manchester of England’s final group game against China in the FIFA Women’s World Cup hosted by McDonalds, the official restaurant sponsor of the tournament. (James Speakman/PA Wire.)“For sure,” Williams said when asked whether James was Golden Boot material. “She’s an exceptional talent, and one that I was looking forward to seeing her showcase that on the world stage.”
She added: “I knew that she had, not just the qualities on the pitch, but the calmness to demonstrate it which is something else.
“She’s such a composed athlete, and I’m just so happy to see her have done what she’s done. Player of the match in her first two starts at the World Cup, that speaks volumes of her as a player.”
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Fara Williams was speaking at a screening in Manchester of England’s final group game in the FIFA Women’s World Cup™ where fans exclusively had the chance to try the McCrispy® Deluxe before the new chicken burger hits restaurants tomorrow.
McDonald’s screened all of England’s group games, as well as handing out free menu items and exclusive world cup merchandise at each event. McDonald’s is the official restaurant sponsor the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023.
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