Lauren James sparks England’s crucial Euro 2025 qualifying win in Ireland

The England captain, Leah Williamson, had joked that the best way to stop her Arsenal teammate, Katie McCabe, would be to make sure she didn’t get the ball, but starving Ireland of possession was exactly what the Lionesses did on the way to a 2-0 win to kickstart their Euro 2025 qualifying campaign.

That dominance yielded first-half goals from the electric Lauren James and a cool penalty from Alex Greenwood that would prove enough.

After a tough 1-1 draw with Sweden last Friday night, England needed a win to ensure they remained in contention for an automatic qualification spot for Switzerland next year.

It may seem slightly odd to pin so much on the second qualifying group game of six, but with the Lionesses drawn in the ‘group of death’ with Euro 2022 semi-finalists France, World Cup bronze medallists Sweden and the only team in pot four to have earned World Cup qualification, the Republic of Ireland, there is little room for error.

Only the top two teams will secure a Euros place, with the third and fourth place teams entering playoffs.

The win means England sit second in the group on four points, with France leading the way on six, Sweden on one and Ireland bottom having suffered two defeats.

Sarina Wiegman had hinted at changes after Friday’s draw at Wembley. “Tomorrow is going to be a very different game with a different opponent, so we’ll do some different things,” she had said before the match in Dublin, and she made several changes, swapping out five of the players that started against Sweden.

Hannah Hampton began in goal, unseating Mary Earps from a competitive fixture for the first time since the 10-0 World Cup qualifying defeat of Luxembourg in September 2022. “Hannah’s doing a great job for Chelsea … this is a moment for her to shine,” Wiegman said before the match. Leah Williamson started for the first time since suffering an anterior cruciate ligament injury last April, with the captain’s armband also returned to her, lining up in place of Lotte Wubben-Moy.

Meanwhile, Jess Carter replaced Chelsea teammate Niamh Charles at left-back and Ella Toone and Jess Park were preferred to Grace Clinton and Georgia Stanway in midfield.

For Eileen Gleeson there were two changes to the side that put on an impressive defensive display in their 1-0 loss to France, with Emily Murphy and Megan Connolly making way for Ruesha Littlejohn and Lucy Quinn.

If there were fears that England might struggle against Ireland’s deep block they were undone quickly in the first half.

It took just 12 minutes for England to take the lead, Keira Walsh’s ball from the left headed down by Lucy Bronze at the far post only for it to take a kind touch off Anna Patten into the path of James, who stroked it past Courtney Brosnan.

Things went from bad to worse for the home team in front of more than 30,000 fans, when Lauren Hemp’s cross was headed into the air by McCabe, falling to Park, who swung at the ball and sent it ricocheting off Littlejohn’s raised elbow for a penalty. Greenwood stepped up in the absence of regular taker Stanway and slotted coolly in, with Brosnan going the wrong way.

Struggling to keep hold of the ball or create, with 28% possession and no shots in the first half, there was some respite for the Girls in Green when Greenwood’s second spot kick was struck off the base of the post. The penalty was harsh, there being very little Louise Quinn could do when the ball came off Alessia Russo and on to her thigh, then her arm.

The moment that lifted the home crowd to its biggest roar came in the 77th minute, when McCabe’s free-kick was pinged across the face of goal by Louise Quinn only for Caitlin Hayes to fail to turn it in. Hayes would test Hampton with five minutes left, her header parried by the goalkeeper at the far post.

There was almost disaster for England moments later, when Hampton’s drop-kick was leapt on by McCabe on the edge of the box, the Ireland captain racing on to the loose ball but sending her effort straight at the recovering keeper.

It was a fraught ending but England’s clinical first half was enough.