Leah Williamson left in awe of ‘cheat code’ Lauren James after England win over South Korea

England captain Leah Williamson heaped praise on Lauren James after the Chelsea forward starred in the Lionesses’ 4-0 victory over South Korea.

James was named player of the match after scoring her first international goal and winning a penalty in Thursday’s Arnold Clark Cup fixture.

James looks a certainty to make the 23-player squad for the World Cup and Williamson was in awe of the 21-year-old’s performance.

‘I think she’s a cheat code,’ Williamson said.

‘I enjoy being on the same team as her, when we come here. We have a squad that’s obviously got standards and non-negotiables and Sarina has touched on it before about this real English mentality about how we’ve all been brought up to work hard.

‘She’s trying to bring out the best of us as well and make sure that we bring the best of ourselves in the game – and somebody like Lauren is a perfect example of that. The girl is incredible, so give her as much support as we can.

‘Obviously, you’d like to think that we’ve got players in the team that show the way [in terms] of standards, but other than that the girl. I’m no one to talk. I’d never try and give the girl advice, I don’t think.’

Williamson briefly played with James in the youth side at Arsenal before the forward left to join Manchester United in 2018.

James made the move to Chelsea in the summer of 2021 and after a year of working her way back to fitness, is now performing regularly for the Blues.

‘She was always going to be this good,’ Williamson added. ‘It was just a matter of time. Her circumstances at the moment have just cooked up a bit of a storm for her and she’s flying.’

England boss Sarina Wiegman was also full of praise for James after the game.

‘I think she has been a talent of course for a long time, she just needed to be available and needed some time at Chelsea,’ Wiegman said.

‘She worked really hard at Chelsea. That’s what you have seen at Chelsea this season, then she can take the next step to the national team. Now when she starts playing at this level with Chelsea, and in the Champions League too, and on this international level, and get those minutes. you can improve. I hope now she gets consistency, she stays fit and keeps enjoying herself.

‘It’s not the World Cup yet. Last season she didn’t play a lot and was still building. This year she is playing more and more. She feels good and you can tell. But we have more players that are really good. We have so many attacking players that are really good. We have opportunities.’