Bethany England explains impact of Laura Coombs after Keira Walsh injury
- England believes Coombs played well after replacing Walsh in the first half
- Happy about making World Cup debut after difficult year
- Has confidence in 'renowned' Wiegman's team selection
Beth England believes that Laura Coombs has been underestimated and brought experience to the side after replacing Keira Walsh in the first half of England's 1-0 victory against Denmark at the Women's World Cup.
Walsh was stretchered off in the 38th minute after a tackle injured her knee, with Coombs brought on to replace her.
The Barcelona midfielder was crucial to England's European Championships victory last summer, and while the extent of her injury remains unknown, Tottenham striker England believes Coombs is an adequate replacement to bring into the side.
"Coombs is an experienced player, maybe people underestimate her at this level but I thought she did fantastic coming in for Keira," England said after the win.
"I thought she held the ball up well, linked well, settled straight into the game and it didn’t look like we were missing anything. So I’m really happy for her that she contributed in the way she did.
"Personally, I’ve not seen [Walsh], so I don’t know [the extent of her injury]. Obviously, the girls are all behind her, wishing her all the best, speedy recovery. Hopefully it’s just precautionary getting her on the stretcher and inside but hopefully we’ll know more later on."
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England's own appearance off the bench as a 76th-minute replacement for Alessia Russo was her first outing at a World Cup.
"God, it’s amazing," she reflected.
"After last summer it was quite difficult for me, so for me to be given that opportunity tonight to try and showcase something else for the team, I’m really proud of that."
England immediately came on and made an impact, getting close to scoring a chance, but ultimately didn't end up hitting the target.
"Yeah, that was my first touch of the ball and I thought it was going in but it went just wide. Look, opportunities will come and I know I’ll be there. So, unfortunately that one didn’t go in but maybe another one will."
The Tottenham player also gave her thoughts on how manager Sarina Wiegman opted to switch the line-up after the narrow win against Haiti, saying: "I trust in the manager. She’s renowned for winning and we just have to continue to trust in whatever team she selects.
"Ultimately, it was all about the win and the points, it didn’t matter how we went about it. I think people are focussing on goals but ultimately we got the goal that we needed and kept a clean sheet and we’re progressing in this tournament and that’s all that matters."