Alessia Russo netted her first World Cup goal as England blew China away by beating them 6-1 to secure a spot in the last-16.
It took our summer recruit just four minutes to get on the scoresheet in Adelaide, as she collected the ball from Lauren James inside the box and took a superb touch to allow her to tuck a shot into the bottom corner.
That kickstarted the rout for the Lionesses, with James netting two more, and Lauren Hemp, Chloe Kelly and Rachel Daly adding the others as Sarina Wiegman’s side cruised into the knockout stages top of their group with a 100 per cent record.
Alessia played 71 minutes of the game before being replaced by Bethany England, in what was her third start of the competition so far, while Lotte Wubben-Moy remained on the bench.
Both will be hoping to see action when England face Nigeria in Brisbane on Monday, August 7 with a spot in the quarter-finals on the line.
Kuhl into the knockouts
Second in the group and also advancing are Kathrine Kuhl’s Denmark, who beat Haiti 2-0 to make it out of the group stages for the first time since 1995.
Pernille Harder’s 21st-minute penalty put the Danes in front, but they had to wait until deep into stoppage time when Sanne Troelsgaard Nielsen added another to clinch a second win of the group stage and set up a last-16 meeting with hosts Australia, meaning Kathrine could face Gunners teammates Steph Catley and Caitlin Foord in Sydney on Monday.
Kathrine remained on the field for 80 minutes in what was her third appearance of the World Cup so far.
Pelova progresses
Earlier in the day, Victoria Pelova’s Netherlands clinched top spot in their group ahead of holders USA by thrashing Vietnam 7-0, recording their biggest win at a World Cup in the process.
Victoria was replaced at half-time with her team already 5-0 ahead thanks to efforts from five different scorers, meaning the 2019 champions advanced to knockout stages for the third edition in a row.
That means they'll face the runners-up in Group G next week, while the US now have to navigate a trickier path to the final, potentially starting with a game against our Swedish trio Stina Blackstenius, Amanda Ilestedt and Lina Hurtig should they top their group.
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