England coach Phil Neville believes Georgia Stanway can become one of the best players in the world after the Lionesses beat Japan 2-0 to secure their place in the round of 16, writes Emma Hartley.

Barrow’s Stanway started her first game in this summer’s Women's World Cup on Wednesday night after the she was brought on as a late substitute in both of the Lionesses previous games.

The 20-year-old was given her chance to step up onto the world stage and she certainly delivered as 14 minutes into the game, Stanway showed great physicality and stamina to shoulder her way through before assisting Ellen White's opening goal of the game.

Neville said: "She’s incredible Georgia: she’s so young. I put her on against America in the SheBelieves Cup with ten minutes to go, 2-2, pressure game, and she played as if she was still playing in Cumbria, playing in the park.

"When we named the team, I think she was a bit surprised. What we said to her today was just pretend you’re playing with your friends in the park because that’s when she’s at her best.

I’ve got to say during the first half, she was the one who looked like she was really enjoying it. She’s going to be one of those players, if she keeps her feet on the ground, keeps progressing and working hard, she’s going to be one of the best players in world football."

Stanway said: "There’s obviously no bigger stage than this and I’ve done it surrounded by the girls that I absolutely love. It’s hard for me to describe because I just loved every minute of it.’’ Stanway was also delighted with her own performance, saying: "You’ve just got to look at the result as a whole. Obviously, we won 2-0, whether it was our best performance or not is a different matter, but you’ve just got to look at the performance.

"We’ve got three points. We’ve got nine points, so we’re very happy, job done. We came here and done what we set out to do, so on to the next opponent.’’ Stanway was very happy to finally have her chance to start on the world stage and it was a truly unforgettable experience for her.

She said: "It’s hard being on the bench but with a squad like so, you can’t complain. We’ve got a squad that’s always pushing to play and always pushing to get better.

"I think the competition within the environment is very healthy because anyone can play at any time and everyone’s got the capability to do the job. I loved being out there today, being part of the girls, it’s unbelievable.

"We found out a few days ago so it kind of settles your nerves. That’s better to be fair because I was a little bit nervous coming into the game but I enjoyed it."

Neville said he wanted to send a message by winning these three group games, while Stanway has admitted how she wants potential opponents to feel coming up against them next.

She said: "We’d hope that they fear us. We’d hope that nobody wants to play England. We’re just excited to showcase what we can do. We’ve got three wins in three games and nobody’s done that since 19-whatever.

"But we’re just excited to go out there and see what we can do. We’ve got the confidence to do it. We’ve got the freedom to do it. We’re just going to go out there and showcase our creativity.’’ Teammate Ellen White, who clinched the game for England with her second goal late on, was very happy with Stanway's performance on the night and she hopes that she can continue to perform at the same level.

White said: "Georgia is an unbelievable talent, we see it on the training pitch day in day out. It’s a lovely assist and I’m really proud of her for performing the way she did on the biggest stage.

"I’m delighted for her, hopefully she can continue to assist me going forward at this World Cup and with Man City in the future."