Five talking points from England 1-0 Denmark

England made it two wins from two at the 2023 Women's World Cup with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Denmark in Sydney.

Lauren James' sixth-minute strike was enough to give Sarina Wiegman's side an important three points, with the Lionesses having to dig in late on against a resilient Danish outfit.

Here are five talking points from another narrow win for the European champions.

Lethal Lauren

Chelsea star James was one of two fresh faces brought into England's starting line-up and needed only six minutes to make her mark.

The 21-year-old attacker showed the same magic touch that was on display throughout last season's Women's Super League campaign when opening the scoring with a fine individual effort.

Picking the ball up 25 yards out, James effortlessly manufactured some space before unleashing an unstoppable curling effort beyond Lene Christensen in the Denmark goal.

Walsh's woe

Lionesses fans would have felt their hearts drop in unison when star midfielder Keira Walsh went down injured shortly after the half-hour mark.

Barcelona midfielder Walsh, 26, is a pivotal player in the England engine room but suffered what appeared a serious knee injury after catching her studs in the turf with no opposition player nearby.

Holding back the tears, the influential Lancastrian left the pitch on a stretcher with her tournament hopes hanging in the balance.

Dependable Daly

Rachel Daly was the WSL's Golden Boot winner last term but found herself deployed at left-back against the Danes.

A combination of ample forward options and injuries in defence have seen Wiegman revert the Aston Villa star to her old position, where she turned in a very steady performance.

Although the 31-year-old is happy to do a job wherever required, it will be intriguing to see if she gets a chance to strut her stuff up front in the knockout stages.

Lucky escape

The control England held for most of the contest started to fade in the final stages and the post came to their rescue with five minutes remaining.

Danish forward Amalie Vangsgaard wriggled free of her marker in the box but glanced a free header against the woodwork with Lionesses No1 Mary Earps well beaten.

Just like in their narrow opening win over Haiti, England showed defensive frailties which will surely be a concern in the tournament's latter stages.

Job done

England may not have been at their fluent best in their opening two matches but their spot in the last 16 is all but secure with a game to spare.

Wiegman may now opt to rotate for her side's final Group D clash with China next Tuesday in an attempt to find more stability at both ends of the pitch.

A point from that encounter will see them top the group and set up a last-16 tie with any one of Nigeria, Canada or co-hosts Australia.