\n
\n
<\/p>\n
\n Reece James played 49 minutes on his return to action last night and England manager Thomas Tuchel praised the impact made by Chelsea’s captain during the 2-1 win over Norway.
\n <\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
James started and played the full 90 minutes in England’s first two matches of this World Cup, the 4-2 victory over Croatia and the goalless draw with Ghana.<\/p>\n
But injury ruled the 26-year-old out of the next match with Panama and he was deemed not fit enough to feature during the Three Lions’ wins over DR Congo and Mexico, despite occupying a place on the bench.<\/p>\n
However, James was brought on in place of Anthony Gordon in the 71st minute of last night’s quarter-final with Norway, initially playing as a central midfielder.<\/p>\n
The arrival of Morgan Rogers on 89 minutes saw James move to right-back, where he played for the duration of extra-time, as Jude Bellingham’s second goal of the match booked England’s place in Wednesday’s semi-final with Argentina.<\/p>\n
Despite only being on the pitch for 49 minutes, James’ 12 completed final third passes were only bettered by three other England players – Elliot Anderson (20), Gordon (14) and Marc Guehi (13), with Anderson and Guehi playing the full 120 minutes.<\/p>\n
His 46 touches were the ninth highest in the team and he completed 27 of his 30 passes, whilst also delivering two corners.<\/p>\n