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GLOBAL POWER: Nikita Parris will be hoping to build on her performance against Scotland when England face Argentina tomorrow

STRIKER NIKITA Parris has the X-factor to inspire England’s World Cup challenge.

That’s the view of former Lioness Eni Aluko as England look to beat Argentina tomorrow (June 14) to follow on from their opening Group D win against arch rivals Scotland at the FIFA Women’s World Cup in France.

Aluko, now a respected media pundit after making 102 England appearances, is of the opinion that the diminutive Parris can have a big tournament.

Writing in her Guardian column, Aluko said of the win against the Scots: “Nikita Parris was the real star of the show.

“She is in a really rich vein of form and you can tell by her celebration of the goal against Scotland that she is far from afraid about playing on this stage. Nikita has become much more clinical over the last couple of seasons and is the sort of big personality in the team who has that X-factor.”

She added: “She really gets on the nerves of defenders. You need that spiky player in your team to irritate the opposition and she could be England’s standout in this World Cup.

“Hopefully if they can get to six points by winning their next match then (manager) Phil Neville can give Nikita a rest as England will be con dent of beating Argentina.”

Parris, who recently left trophy-laden Manchester City for French side Lyon, said of her own journey: “It’s a dream come true to be in this England squad for the World Cup.

EXPECTATION

“We know there’s expectation on us to deliver. We’ve been to two semi-finals in the past four years, now it’s about taking that extra step and reaching the final.

“We’ve got a fantastic group of strikers and attackers in the 23. We push each other every single day and there’s a really good dynamic among us.”

“We all know we are ghting for places but we encourage each other and make sure we get the best out of each other because in any given moment it could be one of us that has to deliver on the big stage,” added the 25-year-old from Liverpool.

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