Fara Williams column: James must start for Lionesses in final

England put in an unbelievable performance to beat Australia in the World Cup semi-finals. 

They showed the experience they've gained from being in similar situations before and there was never a moment in the game, even at 1-1, when I felt they were going to lose. I felt really calm.

The front two of Lauren Hemp and Alessia Russo were superb in and out of possession. The way Hemp held the ball up and played that delayed pass for the third goal was really nice.

And the back three were phenomenal. Alex Greenwood set the tone, smashing into Sam Kerr on the halfway line and taking a booking. Nothing got past them the whole game.

It was an unbelievable day.

Sad for Sam

Kerr was the poster girl for this tournament so for her to pick up a muscle injury before it began was sad.

She will have done everything to get fit and it's disappointing for Australia and the whole world that she was not able to show how good she is.

Her second-half equaliser against the Lionesses was unbelievable, so at least she had her moment.

But Kerr will be thinking about the easier chance she missed later on and will regret she was not sharp.

James must play

Sarina Wiegman has to start Lauren James on Sunday. She's been a standout player in this tournament.

Yes, she made a mistake that could have put the team in a difficult position but it's a squad game. I would start her.

I don't think there's a limit to how good she can be. You only get one opportunity and you have to be ruthless. Our team's better and more creative with her in it.

As for who she replaces, that's a difficult question.

A like-for-like switch with Ella Toone is a possibility but she turns up and scores in big games all the time.

She's the first England player, male or female, to score in the quarter-final, semi-final and final of a major tournament.

I'm sure Sarina will be mulling it over but we have to find somewhere for James to start against Spain.

England to win

Even if England lose, reaching back-to-back finals is an incredible achievement. They've already achieved more in this World Cup than any other Lionesses team in history.

But I don't think they're going to lose. With the momentum they have now, with the mentality in the group, they're going to win.

England look so solid that even if Spain dominate possession they will struggle. We have so much pace in transition and I don't think they have pace at the back.

If we get that aspect of our game right, we'll get chances and we only need one opportunity to win the game.

I'm the Lionesses' harshest critic because I have high standards for them.

But if they win I'm not going to be thinking about how they struggled in the early stages. I'm going to be celebrating that they've won the World Cup.