‘Special’ James stars as England stay perfect in World Cup qualifying

Bronze played throughout the Euros with a broken leg and a recurrence of that injury kept her sidelined for several weeks at the start of the year. She, too, is being managed and was rested against Ukraine before returning the starting XI to face Iceland.

There is no ready right-back replacement for Bronze, who will be 35 by the time the 2027 World Cup comes around. Maya Le Tissier, who plays as a centre-back for Manchester United, seems to be the most likely back-up if Bronze is unavailable while Niamh Charles, who is currently injured, and Anouk Denton are also options.

Bronze now has 145 caps for her country, which puts her third in the all-time appearance charts and she shows no signs of slowing down.

“She’s an incredible human being and has a mindset that is really incredible,” Wiegman said of Bronze.

“She has so much football intelligence, she really gets it. At the same time she’s helping her team-mates off the pitch which makes the team play better.”

As they did against Ukraine, England dominated possession against Iceland but did not make the most of their 31 shots, with only seven hitting the target. Taking six points from both games was the most important factor for Wiegman, with Spain still to come in this World Cup qualifying group.

Only one team will progress automatically and the two games against the world champions – at Wembley in April and in Spain in June – will likely decide who tops the group and who has to go through the play-offs. It is vital England have their best players available for both of those games, so Wiegman’s management of James and Bronze will be crucial.#

Match details

England (4-2-1-3): Hampton 7; Bronze 8, Williamson 6, Morgan 6, Hinds 5; Walsh 6, Stanway 7 (Kendall 90+3); Park 6 (Blindkilde Brown 85); James 7 (Kelly 75), Russo, Hemp 6.
Goals: Bronze 22, Stanway 78.
Subs not used: Moorhouse, Roebuck, Le Tissier, Wubben-Moy, Pattinson, Clinton, Beever-Jones, Carter, Godfrey.

Iceland (4-3-3): Runarsdottir 6; Arnardottir 5, Viggosdottir 5, Sigurdardottir 6, Heidarsdottir 6; Hermannsdottir 5 (Asgeirsdottir 63), Antonsdottir 6 (Agustsdottir 86), Vilhjalmsdottir 5 (Johannsdottir 63); Eiriksdottir 5 (Olafsdottir Gros 46), Jessen 6, Jonsdottir 5 (Zomers 76).
Subs not used: Ivarsdottir, Birkisdottir, Tomasdottir, Georgsdottir, Palmadottir, Halldorsdottir, Karlsdottir.

Referee: Silvia Gasperotti.

Attendance: 27,472.