England thrash China 6-1 to reach last 16 as group winner

ADELAIDE: Lauren James shone again with two fine goals as England put in its best performance of the Women’s World Cup so far to sweep aside China 6-1 on Tuesday and march into the last 16 as Group D winner. Alessia Russo gave the European champion the perfect start with a goal in the fourth minute and Lauren Hemp and James added two more to give England a comfortable lead at the break at Hindmarsh Stadium.

James grabbed her third goal of the tournament after halftime before Chloe Kelly and Rachel Daly also found the net to give England an emphatic victory as it heads off to Brisbane to play Nigeria on Monday for a place in the quarterfinals. It was a record World Cup defeat for Asian champion and 1995 semifinalist China, which exited in the group stage for the first time in eight appearances at the global showpiece.

The United States held on by a thread to keep its Women’s World Cup title defence alive on Tuesday, stumbling into the knockout stages with a 0-0 draw against debutant Portugal at Eden Park.

The four-times champion was playing with everything on the line but spurned several chances to find the net and the addition of veteran Megan Rapinoe in the second half did little to turn things around against a physical Portugal defence. It survived a huge scare in stoppage time when Ana Capeta hit the post and another fright when Capeta won a free kick just outside the box a few minutes later but held on through the nerve-searing final minutes of the affair. The United States moves on to the last 16 in Melbourne, where it will almost certainly face Sweden, after finishing in second place in Group E behind Netherlands. Agencies

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