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4 Chelsea Women players who shined brightest at World Cup

By Caden Charpentier

England's defender #06 Millie Bright of Chelsea celebrates their victory during the Australia and New Zealand 2023 Women's World Cup semi-final football match between Australia and England at Stadium Australia in Sydney on August 16, 2023. (Photo by Saeed KHAN / AFP) (Photo by SAEED KHAN/AFP via Getty Images)
England's defender #06 Millie Bright of Chelsea celebrates their victory during the Australia and New Zealand 2023 Women's World Cup semi-final football match between Australia and England at Stadium Australia in Sydney on August 16, 2023. (Photo by Saeed KHAN / AFP) (Photo by SAEED KHAN/AFP via Getty Images) /
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SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – AUGUST 20: Lauren James of England and Chelsea walks past the FIFA Women’s World Cup winners’ trophy during the award ceremony after the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023 Final match between Spain and England at Stadium Australia on August 20, 2023 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Joe Prior/Visionhaus via Getty Images) /

3. Lauren James – England

Everyone is going to bring up the red card. Even with the fact that the Blues’ No. 10 missed two games, Lauren James officially arrived on the international stage. Despite playing just 331 minutes in five games, James collected the second most goal contributions of any player during this World Cup. Her three assists were the most by a single individual in the competition, tied with France’s Kadidiatou Diani, and Mina Tanaka.

The 21-year-old was a constant headache to any backline, amassing 16 successful take ons, tying Spain’s Jennifer Hermoso, and Morocco’s Sakina Ouzraoui. Sarina Wiegman knew she made a mistake leaving the youngster out of the starting lineup to begin the tournament against Haiti. When she was inserted into the Lionesses’ first XI, James made an immediate impact, scoring her first World Cup goal against Denmark. The London native followed that up with two goals and three assists against China to seal England’s top spot in Group D. Her youth got the best of her against Nigeria, but that should not take away from a brilliant outing this summer. The quality and calmness at such a young age for England was something no CFCW fan was shocked about.

2. Millie Bright – England

Eight players contributed 660 minutes on the world stage this summer. Millie Bright was one of them. The Lionesses’ captain led the defending European champions with class from the beginning to the end. The Blues’ No. 4 completed over 490 passes with an 86.2 percent completion percentage. Her progressive passing distance, the measurement of how much the ball traveled toward the opponents goal was 4,553 yards. That was good for the most on the English side, and 90 yards more than any Lioness.

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