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Lauren James's dad Nigel believes his daughter can be a global star like Lionel Messi and Diego Maradona after taking the Women's World Cup by storm.

James was surprisingly left on the bench for England's opening game of the tournament against Haiti, but has come into the starting line-up for the last two matches and made a stunning impact.

The 21-year-old netted the winner in the Lionesses' 1-0 win over Denmark, and was then involved in five goals, scoring two herself, in a 6-1 thrashing of China.

The Chelsea forward has been England's standout performer as they eased into the last 16 of the World Cup, and Nigel thinks this is just the start for his daughter, believing she can go on and follow in the footsteps of some of the greatest players to play the game.

Reflecting on Lauren's three goals at the tournament in Australia and New Zealand, Nigel told BBC Sport: 'Lauren (has) done goals like that when she was younger for years.