England midfielder Keira Walsh has paid tribute to teammate Ella Toone following her excellent performances for the Lionesses at the World Cup.

Lauren James’ sending off against Nigeria in the round of 16 meant that Toone has had to step up in the Chelsea star’s absence, having started in both the quarter-final and semi-finals. Walsh believes the Manchester United player deserves more credit for her contributions:

“Tooney has come back in and she has done an unbelievable job People probably won’t speak about it too much, but it’s not easy to come in for a quarter-final or semi-final when all the spotlight has been on the player’s place you are taking.”

“She tackled, she got stuck in, she took us up the pitch, she gave us a lot of security. LJ is a massive talent, but we have got to put some respect on Tooney’s name as well – she has been fantastic.”

Toone scored the opener against Australia on Wednesday, and the 23-year-old has done everything possible to make sure she is in contention to start the final versus Spain this weekend.

It will be harsh if Toone is dropped

With James returning from her two-match suspension, England boss Sarina Wiegman has a very tough decision to make. The Chelsea ace has scored 3 goals and provided 3 assists in the tournament so far.

They will need her creativity in the final to break down Spain and, yet, dropping Toone to the bench after performing so well in the previous two games would be very harsh.

The final is too close to call

Both England and Spain head into the final with every chance of lifting the trophy. The bookies have made Spain ever so slight favourites with Bet 365 making them 4/5 odds-on.

However, the margins are so tiny that the difference is negligible. Fans should expect a tightly contested affair on Sunday.