No Walsh, no worries! Lionesses show no mercy with 6-1 win over China at World Cup

The injury woes of star player Keira Walsh proved to have little to hinder the Lionesses' run at the Women’s World Cup, with the England side putting six goals on China to top their group and secure a spot in the round of 16.

The Lionesses will now go on to face Nigeria in the round of 16 knockout stages of the tournament next Monday.

There was a lot of speculation going into the match as to what impact the absence of star player Keira Walsh would have on the side, but strong showings from Lauren James, who notched a brace and nearly made it a hat trick with one goal being disallowed due to offside.

She was joined on the goal sheet by Alessia Russo, Rachel Daly and substitute Chloe Kelly, who came off the bench to score at the 76th-minute mark to take the Lionesses to a roaring 5-1 lead.

The England side was convincing from the start, with Russo sneaking through the Chinese defence after just 4 minutes of play to make it 1-0.

China rarely looked like troubling the English in the game, and their only highlight came late into play thanks to a handball by Lucy Bronze in box. This gave way to a penalty that Wang Shuang put past Lioness keeper Mary Earps at the 57th minute. 

Spirits in the Lionesses seemed to be high at the end of the match with winger Lauren James telling the BBC. "It's what dreams are made of. I'm happy for the team; everyone is buzzing. We are looking forward to the next round.

They’ll have to keep up the scoring habit going into the 16 with their match against Nigeria, so far undefeated in the competition.

Nigeria's Super Falcons have established a strong defence and have only conceded two goals in the competition so far. These were both from host nation Australia, who they beat in the end 3-2.

It’s unknown if the Lionesses will be bolstered by Keira Walsh by then, with little known about her knee injury other than that it was not an ACL.

For the moment, however, it looks like England are certainly strong enough to challenge the best in the world for a final place.