England 1, Denmark 0

In the end, it was worth the wait.

With a flash of early brilliance, Lauren James ended England's run of more than seven hours without a goal from open play to seal a win against Denmark at the Women's World Cup on Friday.

The Chelsea star scored after six minutes of her first start at the tournament to put the Lionesses on course for back-to-back wins in Group D.

"It was a dream and something I've been thinking about, but most importantly I'm happy to help us win," James said. "I kind of had a thought and then as soon as it hit the net, it was just relief."

James, who came off the bench in England's tight opening win over Haiti, made a quick impression when given her chance from the start against Denmark.

Collecting the ball outside the area, she curled a right-foot shot beyond the reach of goalkeeper Lene Christensen to score what turned out to be the winner for European champion England.

"It came too early for us," Denmark coach Lars Sondergaard said. "It upset us a little bit. We were then on the back foot a little bit and England got confidence through this beautiful goal."

James, the sister of Chelsea and England men's player Reece James, is considered one of the brightest prospects in women's soccer.

She lived up to that billing, being named player of the match against Denmark and bringing a new energy to England's attack, which has lacked cutting edge in the build up to the World Cup.

She was the key difference between an England team that had looked predictable in attack against Haiti and one that threatened to overrun Denmark in the opening half an hour in Sydney.

Not that her coach Sarina Wiegman wanted to place too much focus on the forward, trying to deflect any question about the player.

James' former Chelsea teammate and Denmark captain Pernille Harder was happier to give praise.

"I've seen her do that so many times in training, I knew that we had to keep an eye on her her right foot," she said. "She does that really well. She's a great player."

For all of James' brilliance, England still required the width of the post to secure another narrow win.

Denmark substitute Amalie Vangsgaard went close to scoring a dramatic late equalizer with a header in the final moments of regulation time.

The forward, who came off the bench to score a 90th-minute winner against China last week, beat England keeper Mary Earps, only to see her effort come back off the woodwork.

Earps had already been called upon to push away Katrine Veje's cross that was heading into the top corner as Denmark finished the stronger.

"We could see that England got a little bit insecure, lost balls, easy balls," Sondergaard said. "I think we put pressure on them in the last part of second half and through that could've deserved an equalizer."

A turning point appeared to be an injury to England midfielder Keira Walsh late in the first half. She needed to leave the field on a stretcher after what appeared to be a knee injury.

"Of course I'm concerned," Wiegman said. "She couldn't walk off the pitch. We don't know yet (how serious it is). Let's wait. We had to find our feet. We really dominated the first half and then Keira went out."

While questions still hang over England, it was another win for the back-to-back semifinalist.

James' goal, meanwhile, saw the Lionesses equal Norway's record of 15-successive games at the tournament in which they've scored.

"It was a pretty exciting game, pretty end-to-end, but we're pleased we've got in this position," England captain Millie Bright said. "Two games, two wins, two clean sheets. Some really good parts of both games, but I think tonight mentality and character was a big part of the second half especially. First half (was) really good, really good goal from LJ but yeah, overall, really happy to be in the position we are in."

China 1, Haiti 0

Despite playing with 10 players for more than an hour, China defied the odds to secure a victory over Haiti in its second game of the Women's World Cup.

Forward Wang Shuang scored her first-ever goal at a World Cup in the 74th minute, converting a penalty after VAR adjudged her teammate Zhang Linyan was fouled in the area. This victory marks the second time in Women's World Cup history that a team has won with 10 players on the field, with the previous occurrence taking place in 2011.

After a relatively uneventful opening 28 minutes, the game changed dramatically when China midfielder Zhang Rui received a red card for a tackle on Sherly Jeudy. Zhang was initially given a yellow card but, after VAR review, the decision was changed to direct red. The Steel Roses were forced to play with 10 players for the remainder of the match.

The one-player advantage allowed Haiti to gain the upper hand, especially following the introduction of Melchie "Corventina" Dumornay at the start the second half. Dumornay nearly opened the scoring in the 53rd minute, but her right-foot shot from close range was pushed over the crossbar by China goalkeeper Zhu Yu.

With Haiti committing additional players forward, China capitalized on the available space and Zhang Linyan was brought down in the box. VAR was again involved with an initial offside decision being reversed and a penalty kick being awarded. Halftime substitute Wang Shuang sent Haiti goalkeeper Kerly Théus the wrong way for the game's only goal.

Haiti thought it had a lifeline when it was initially awarded a penalty kick of its own in stoppage time, but VAR reversed the decision.

Argentina 2, South Africa 2

Argentina scored two game-saving goals in a flurry of five minutes during the second half to salvage a draw with South Africa.

The draw gave both teams a single point in Group G. Sweden and Italy, the co-leaders of the group with three points each, play Saturday.

Sophia Braun sent the ball soaring into the top right corner of the net in the 74th minute to get Argentina on the board. Romina Nunez tied it with a header in the 79th.

The game was played before just 8,834 spectators in Dunedin Stadium, but those in attendance made their support known for both of the teams.

Linda Motlhalo scored in the 30th minute for South Africa when she knocked in a pass from Thembi Kgatlana when play slowed because Argentine players thought South Africa was offside. Kgatlana later added a goal herself in the 66th minute.

The draw gave South Africa its first ever point in the Women's World Cup. South Africa lost every match in the group stage at the 2019 Women's World Cup, as well as this tournament opener.

But the Banyana Banyana are more competitive this time around and t ook the lead against Sweden in the opener before losing 2-1.

South African team captain Refiloe Jane was stretchered off in the 22nd minute for an apparent injury to her left ankle. The midfielder went down after colliding mid-air with an Argentinian player, who seemed unhurt.