Topics: Lauren James, England, China, FIFA Women's World Cup
The FA Women's Super League sensation delivered a performance for the ages, scoring twice and assisting three goals in a single game.

August 1, 2023, will forever be remembered as the day Lauren James announced herself to the entire globe.

While the 21-year-old was already highly-rated, the Chelsea attacker showed to the whole world why she is one of the hottest — if not the hottest — young attacker in women's football after her outstanding performance in England's 6-1 thrashing of China at the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup.

The Lionesses were the favorites to qualify out of their group but a spot in the round of 16 had not yet been confirmed. As a result, the Women's Euro champions needed to beat China in their final group-stage game.

James, who scored the winning goal in the 1-0 victory over Denmark, put in arguably one of the most memorable individual performances in this competition's history, contributing to all but one of England's six goals.

Yes, Lauren not only scored a brace but she also grabbed three assists in a performance that will be talked about for ages. The FA Women's Super League sensation set up Alessia Russo for the opener after only four minutes, assisted Hemp in the 26th minute to double their lead, scored two goals, and then assisted another goal, this time for Chloe Kelly.

Her two goals, which came on both sides of the half-time whistle, were spectacular on their own, with the first being an unstoppable shot into the bottom corner of the goal before scoring a lovely volley in the second half. Check out the goals in the clips below (videos are geo-restricted).

And just like that, the Chelsea ace made history. Not only is she the youngest player on record to be directly involved in 4+ goals in a single FIFA Women's World Cup, but she also became the first English player in history to have five goal contributions in a single World Cup game in both the men's and women's tournament.

And with that, Sarina Wiegman's side won their group and will now face Nigeria in the round of 16. If that was not enough, James has also established herself as the top assist provider and is second in the Golden Boot race — though there is still a lot of time for things to change.