Kiera Walsh says Ella Toone and Lauren James playing together has been key to England’s Euros turnaround | OneFootball

England midfielder Kiera Walsh lauded the attacking duo of Ella Toone and Lauren James in helping the Lionesses progress to the Euros quarter-finals.

Following England’s disappointing opening game defeat to France, boss Sarina Wiegman introduced Toone to the starting lineup and the Manchester United attacker has scored in both of the last two matches.

And Walsh says having both her and James on the pitch together has made the Lionesses a scary side to face.

“Massive credit to Ella Toone, she’s come in and done an incredible job,” she said.

“Obviously people speak about her offensively but the defensive work she does for me and Georgia is incredible.

“She covers a lot of spaces that we can’t. I think that’s probably been the main thing that’s stopped other teams from playing.

“With Lauren James on the wing, we’ve managed to get them both on the pitch at the same time and they are two world class players.”

England’s campaign got off to a tricky start with a 2-1 defeat against France. However, they have bounced back in style since, demolishing the Netherlands 4-0 and thrashing Wales 6-1.

Sarina Wiegman’s side have now booked their place in the quarter-finals where they will face Sweden.

Midfielder Walsh said: “Obviously it was a tough start in the group. So I think to win the final two games and the way we did it was really positive. Looking forward to the next game now.

“It was a slow start I think but we’ve definitely built on that. I think the intensity in the last two games, the way we’ve attacked, the way we’ve tried to win the ball back really quick.

“I think it’s been really good, so we’re happy with where we are right now.”

The Lionesses star continued: “Obviously it was a tough start, maybe the pressure did kick us into gear a little bit.

“France are a top team, it was more about finding our confidence and enjoying it, rather than needing a bit of a shock. In that game we lacked confidence and bravery.

“That’s what we tried to put right in these two games and I think that’s why we scored a few goals.

“That was the main message from the first game. Sarina just wanted us to be confident and enjoy it, and obviously we play better football when we do that.

“Like you said there was more flow to the game tonight and better connections.

“We’re just trying to keep that going and keep that momentum in the next game.”

The Swedes have won every game at the tournament so far, including a statement 4-1 victory over highly-rated Germany.

Walsh admitted: “They’ve had an incredible group as well. They had a really strong game against Germany.

“It’s going to be really tough opposition but we’re just going to focus on what we’re doing, keep being confident playing good football.

“We’ll see when Sarina starts doing the tactics in the next few days.”