'Give her more respect': England midfielder praises Lionesses and Man Utd star

England midfielder Keira Walsh has called on Lionesses team mate Ella Toone to be given more respect after the Manchester United midfielder once again showed up on the big stage for Sarina Wiegman's side.

Toone, 24, scored an outstanding opening goal to send England on their way to a triumphant 3-1 semi final win over Australia but has come in for criticism for her performances during the tournament.

"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" said Walsh.

"She tackled, she got stuck in, she took us up the pitch, she gave us a lot of security. LJ (Lauren James) is a massive talent, but we have got to put some respect on Tooney's name as well - she has been fantastic" added the Barcelona midfielder.

Toone, who started the tournament in Wiegman's starting XI was forced out due to the form of the Chelsea forward James but with the 21-year-old suspended, the United midfielder stormed back with two excellent performances that culminated in a breathtaking opener against the Matildas.

It's not the first time the Wigan born player has come up trumps for the Lionesses on the big stage, scoring the crucial opening goal in last year's Euro 2022 final victory over Germany while she also grabbed the all important late equaliser against Spain in the quarter finals of the same tournament and England fans will be hoping she can repeat the trick this Sunday.

Walsh, who plays alongside England team mate Lucy Bronze with many of the Spanish national team for her club side Barcelona, admitted it adds an extra level of spice to the weekend game but played down thoughts it could give England a tactical advantage.

"The girls (Barcelona players) know about me and Lucy, so it works both ways" she admitted.

"The Barca girls are obviously unbelievable players and I am sure whatever I say, they will probably come up with something different because they are very special players. I see those girls every day and how competitive they are" added Walsh.

While harmony is strong in the England camp, Spain head into the final with the several key players making themselves unavailable for selection in the lead up to the tournament.

Barca stars Aitana Bonmati and Alexia Putellas are two that have returned to the fold and will most certainly play this Sunday and Walsh praised her club team mates despite the seemingly ongoing dispute between the Spanish Federation, manager Jorge Vilde and several Spanish players.

"It shows the professionalism for them to kind of park it and do the job they have done and get to a World Cup final. We message before each game saying good luck and obviously the idea was hopefully we would see each other in the final, but we didn't actually expect it to happen.

"Once we cross that white line it will be a very interesting game. It's nice to see so many players I know in and around the final."

England face Spain in Sydney this Sunday, with kick off scheduled for 11am BST.