In between taking a recent Pepsi advertisement, England -star Lauren James is asked to hit a stack of cans from five meters away.
“Too easy,” James replies before she turns her back, the ball lies up and back and back to the target in one fast, enchanting movement. She is not turning to check – just wait for the clatter. David Beckham walks by and tips his hat. He knows sparkle when he sees it.
And James, 23, who scored twice, one beauty, while England beat the Netherlands 4-0 on Wednesday to restore their Euro title defense, is the poster girl of this Lionesses tournament. She is in TV advertisements for Deodorants, Cadbury Chocolate and Walkers -chips -appears next to Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez.
Dubbed a 'genius' of former Chelsea manager Emma Hayes, James burst on the Women's World Cup in Australia two years ago.
But her story took a bend for the worse in the last 16 collision with Nigeria when she stamped and was sent to Michelle Alozie. England qualified for the quarterfinals, but James was banned for two games and suffered a play.
James, the sister of Chelsea's Reece, apologized to her teammates and promised to learn. Her inner circle says that the stamp was out of character for someone who is warm, funny and grounded, with manager Sarina Wiegman who says she is the 'sweetest person I know'.
Since then, lesions have disrupted James's momentum – she played only nine Super League matches last season – but her selection for Wiegman's team, despite the fact that he has not been playing since April, is proof of her talent.
To understand what James changed into a generation talent, Mail Sport spoke with the man who knows her best: her father, the former football player Nigel James, who set coaching academy goals in Wimbledon on five-one-side Astro fields. The center has been running for 24 years.
Nigel described how his daughter's love came from a simple thing for football – did not want to be omitted by her older brothers: Josh, who was in the books of Fulham and Reading, and Reece. “Her brothers were practicing in the garden, and they would have their friends about who was in academies,” he said Mail Sport.
'Lauren was always surrounded by top players, and she was like the little sister of all. She was driven by not being omitted. And that is all they knew, train and have fun. Every day they played in the park for three or four hours, nobody coached them. They developed without realizing it. But the level of what they did was high. '
Nigel coached Lauren in the cages at goals, where she was often the only girl. His focus was on developing 'Balcomfort' – the ability to use both feet and stay in tight spaces.
Nigel also credits the fights with her brothers to build her impressive power. James made five performances for Arsenal before moving to Manchester United started her turnout and a Ladies Super League record led £ 200,000 transfer to Chelsea in 2021.
Her turnout went on and she debuted a year later for England, where her and Reece became the first brother and sister who represented their country. Lauren is now located as one of the leading lights of the game and is in a good place after he had overcome online abuse about her weight that her mental and physical well -being had influenced.
She feels happy and nowhere more than in a full stadium. “I play to get people from their seats,” she says. As her display against the Netherlands proved, when James is at her best, England rises with her.