After narrow wins in their first two Group D fixtures, Sarina Wiegman's side was motivated to win in style at Hindmarsh Stadium.

Adopting a 3-4-1-2 from the outset, with Lauren James deployed as a free-roaming attacking midfielder, England immediately found their groove in Adelaide.

As always, an early goal helps the cause, and Alessia Russo's opening strike after four minutes was the perfect start. Starting the move with a superb outside-of-the-foot pass behind China's defence, Russo eventually popped up in the penalty area to find the bottom right corner with a precise strike. She was helped by China failing to clear their lines but took the goal well, steering the ball into the bottom corner and giving goalkeeper Zhu Yu no chance.

Only after the first goal did England start to dominate proceedings seriously. Wiegman's side was very sharp in possession throughout the early stages, and there was a real purpose to everything they did.

One of the prominent early strategies utilised was exploiting China's right side, which Russo did again in the 10th minute. We also saw James using her freedom to break into wide areas and create the one-on-one situations she is adept at manipulating.

But to dominate in such a way, you must strangle your opponent without the ball. Right from the off, England's counter-pressing was too much to handle for China, whose inability to keep possession was highlighted by the Steel Roses only having 12% of the ball in the first 15 minutes. Meanwhile, England had 76%, which wasn't possession for possession's sake.

The Lionesses displayed a superb passing range on the ball and completed an astonishing 147 after 16 minutes. By the 20th, they had a pass completion rate of 95%. Yes, 95%.

Of course, you need the tactical nouse to break down your opposition. Possession is not the be-all and end-all. Wiegman's attacking combinations and rotations were on full display tonight. Lauren Hemp and Alessia Russo played quite close to China's two centre-backs, occupying them when England had the ball. This tactic is deployed to create two-on-two scenarios, particularly in transition.

The transition phases were also a big part of this England performance. In the 13th minute, we got a glimpse into how dangerous they can be on the break, with a huge block denying Hemp from doubling the advantage after a swift breakaway.

The interchangeability of Hemp, Russo, and James was a feature of England's play. In the 16th minute, Hemp drifted between the two centre-backs; Russo dropped deeper between the lines, whilst James had veered to the other side as a left-sided attacking midfielder. Thus, the shape had morphed into more of a 3-4-2-1. Fifteen minutes later, Wiegman fine-tuned the procession with a slight system change as England switched to a 3-1-4-2. Georgie Stanway pushed higher as a second attacking midfielder with James, with Katie Zelem at the base of midfield as a lone number six.

But before that, England doubled their lead, with James' perfectly weighted through ball taken superbly in her stride by Hemp with an excellent first touch towards goal. The striker then finished past Yu with routine ease.

Routine ease was a way to describe most of what England did in the first half, as China gave a substantial helping hand. Shui Qingxia's side took too many touches in possession. They were hesitant, allowing Millie Bright to do what she does best by stepping out of the defensive line and breaking up play in midfield.

Another wrinkle in England's tactical identity was seen towards the end of the first half, as they started to get their wingbacks more involved. In the 32nd minute, England went from one wing back to the other as a marauding Lucy Bronze met Rachel Daly’s lofted cross at the back post, who struck the post with a header.

Goalkeeper Mary Earps, largely a spectator, was still important in constantly signalling her team to slow the game down in possession. England could achieve this control through China's total absence of pressure.

By the end of the first 45, England was toying with their opponents, who decided they would not press. On one occasion, James and Alex Greenwood started knocking the ball about amongst themselves, completely unchecked. England was so far advanced in China’s half that Mille Bright, their central centre-back, was sometimes on the edge of the circle in the Chinese half.

The Chinese passivity was certainly evident in the 40th minute when a clever set-piece routine saw the ball cut back to the edge of the box for James, who found the bottom right corner for the third. After a fantastic showing against Denmark, James had another field day in Adelaide. Moments later, she had a goal disallowed, which was a sublime finish following the third phase of a corner.

Despite a brief and inspiring Chinese spell from the 50th to the 60th minute, only a little changed for James and England in the second half. They still played their football in China's half and did so in spectacular fashion.

England's fourth goal was initiated by the incredible poise of Bronze, who calmly laid the ball backwards to tee up a superb lofted cross that found James at the back post, who netted a perfect volley across Yu.

Twelve minutes later, a horrible error by Yu saw Chloe Kelly latch onto a long ball that the goalkeeper failed to deal with as she tapped into an open net.

After James came off to a big ovation, it was fitting England's sixth goal would come about through Wiegman's clever use of her wingbacks, as Daly pushed forward from her role mentioned above on the left side to thump home a half volley into the roof of the net at the back post.

So overall, we saw a mix of English brilliance and Chinese errors. But one thing was clear from the outset. Wiegman and her side came to Adelaide with a big attacking display in mind and got what they desired.

After one-goal victories on Matchdays 1 and 2, England finally hit their attacking stride on Matchday 3.

Nigeria, England's opponents in the Round of 16, failed to score in two of their three group-stage games. It will come through defensive solidity if they have any chance of beating this swashbuckling England side.