Zelem reacts after first England start

The Lionesses comfortably progressed to the knockout stage as winners of Group D after the thumping 6-1 victory - which equalled their record win at a Women’s World Cup after they thrashed Argentina by the same scoreline in the 2007 group stage.

Much of the pre-match debate centred around how the Lionesses would replace key midfielder Keira Walsh, who suffered a serious knee injury in the 1-0 win over Denmark last Friday.

Manager Sarina Wiegman decided to give Zelem an opportunity from the start on the big stage in a bid to fill the void and the 27-year-old repaid the faith shown in her with a solid all-round display, alongside Georgia Stanway in the first half and Laura Coombs in the second…