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SYDNEY— Only VAR prevented England’s Lauren James from scoring a hat trick against China at the Women’s World Cup.
China certainly didn’t know how to stop the inspirational forward as she scored two goals and provided three assists in a 6-1 rout on Tuesday at Adelaide, South Australia.
James’ impressive performance should be a warning for future opponents of the threat she poses at this World Cup, with England entering the knockout stage with three straight wins.
The Chelsea forward makes it seem so easy. James scored with her right and and with her left. One goal was a powerfully controlled strike from the edge of the area and the other was a clinical volley from a tight angle.
[bsa_pro_ad_space id=1]James thought she had another memorable goal after expertly firing into the corner from distance in first-half stoppage time. But the effort was disallowed because her teammate Lucy Bronze had been in an offside position during the build up.
That could mean bad news for Nigeria, which is England’s next opponent in the round of 16 in Brisbane on Monday.
Netherlands scored four times in a torrid 15-minute first-half stretch, overwhelming Vietnam 7-0 in the Women’s World Cup on Tuesday and sealing first place in Group E.
The Dutch went into the match in second place on goal differential behind the United States. But the blowout win combined with the Americans’ 0-0 draw with Portugal made Netherlands the group winner. The U.S. advanced in second place.
[bsa_pro_ad_space id=1]Netherlands dominated almost from the start. Lieke Martens chipped a shot into the net in the eighth minute over 5-foot-4 (1.63-meter) Vietnam goalkeeper Tran Thi Kim Thanh to get the scoring started. Then the rout was on, as goals from three other Dutch players quickly followed.
Esmee Brugts scored one in the flurry on a curling ball from outside the penalty area in the 18th minute, then got another from nearly the same spot in the second half. Jill Roord also scored twice.
Vietnam changed goalkeepers at halftime, substituting Khong Thi Hang in for Tran Thi Kim Thanh. It was too late.
Denmark advanced to the round of 16 of the Women’s World Cup for the first time since 1995 after beating Haiti 2-0 on Tuesday in its last group-stage match. The win sets up a round of 16 matchup against tournament co-host Australia in Sydney next Monday.
[bsa_pro_ad_space id=1]Denmark’s goals came courtesy of a penalty kick by Pernille Harder in the 21st minute and a calm finish by Sanne Troelsgaard in stoppage time. Haiti exits the tournament without any goals or points to show for its World Cup debut despite pushing Group D winner England all the way in its opener.
A goal post saved the United States from elimination at the Women’s World Cup.
Ana Capeta nearly scored for Portugal in stoppage time but her shot hit the left post and the United States escaped with a uninspiring 0-0 draw on Tuesday that got them through — just barely — to the knockout round.
The U.S. won only one game in group play for the first time in tournament history, scoring just four goals over three games. With the scoreless draw, the United States fell to second in the group behind the Netherlands and will head to Melbourne, Australia, for a round of 16 match on Sunday.
The Netherlands now heads to Sydney, for a round of 16 match on Sunday, face the second-place team from Group G, which includes Sweden, South Africa, Italy and Argentina. The United States plays the group’s top team — likely Sweden.