England made it two wins from two at the FIFA Women’s World Cup on Friday morning.
Chelsea’s Lauren James scored the only goal of the game against Denmark as the Lionesses edged closer to qualifying for the knockout stages.
Rachel Daly, who came off the bench in their opening-game win against Haiti, played the entirety of Friday’s Group D encounter from left-back.
England started the clash against Denmark with plenty of energy and reaped the rewards with a sixth-minute strike from James.
Daly fed the ball into the feet of the Chelsea forward who opened up and fed the ball into the far corner of the Danish net from distance.
The goal was a sumptuous one and seemed like it would set the Lionesses on their way to another victory.
However, the Danes soon grew into the game and began testing the England defence.
Pernille Harder, recently signed by Bayern Munich, had an effort saved by Manchester United’s Mary Earps as the momentum began to swing.
England then lost Keira Walsh to what looks like a significant injury to further add to the anxiety which took over proceedings.
Daly looked like adding a second assist to her own tally during the closing stages when her floated cross found Tottenham Hotspur’s Beth England inside the area, but the striker’s glancing header went just wide.
The last chance of note came from Denmark, however.
With just minutes left to play, Paris Saint-Germain’s Amalie Vangsgaard planted a header against Earps’ left-hand post in what was a heart-in-mouth moment for the stranded goalkeeper and her England teammates.
Sarina Wiegman’s side saw out four minutes of additional time to squeeze out another slender victory. They will complete their Group D schedule against China on Tuesday afternoon.
Jordan Nobbs will be hopeful of getting some minutes under her belt as England prepare for the knockout stages.
