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Will England star Lauren James return for the Women's World Cup final?

Will England star Lauren James return for the Women's World Cup final?

England are through to the final.

England have reached the Women's World Cup final after beating Australia 3-1 in Sydney. But will Lauren James be available for the final?

The Lionesses' goals came courtesy of Ella Toone, Lauren Hemp and Alessia Russo, as Sarina Wiegman's side reached a Women's World Cup final for the first time.

They went 1-0 up through Toone, before Sam Kerr scored a long-range deflected effort to level the scores for the Matildas.

But England went back in front through Hemp and never looked back, securing their spot in the World Cup final.

They did it without James, who starred for the Lionesses during the group stage but was shown a straight red card for stamping on Nigeria's Michelle Alozie towards the end of the match.

Having missed the last two games, will the England and Chelsea star be back in contention for the final against Spain?

Will Lauren James return for England in the Women's World Cup final?

Yes, Lauren James will be back for England at the Women's World Cup final, having served her suspension in full.

The attacking midfielder was handed an automatic one-match ban following the incident with Alozie, but this was extended by a further match by UEFA.

As a result, James missed both the quarter-final win over Colombia, and the semi-final win against Australia.

But she will be back in contention to take on Spain in Sydney, in what will be a boost for Wiegman and the Lionesses squad.

Whether James will be restored straight into the team is unclear, given England's performance in the semi-final, but she could be a key option off the bench if she doesn't start.

She is two goals away from winning the Golden Boot award - although there are five other players involved in the final who could dethrone Japan's Hinata Miyazawa.

Featured Image Credit: Getty

Topics: England, Womens Football, Womens World Cup, Chelsea