Nigeria’s playmaker Asisat Oshoala tussling with Jess Carter.—Picture: Gallo Images
* England were given an almighty scare but face Colombia or Jamaica next on Saturday
* It was an excruciating watch for England supporters in Brisbane as the Lionesses were largely second best to Nigeria
By Emma Sanders, BBC Sport at Brisbane Stadium
England scraped through to the quarter-finals of the Women’s World Cup with a dramatic penalty shootout victory over Nigeria despite Lauren James’ red card.
Advertisement
Georgia Stanway fired wide with the opening penalty but Nigeria missed their next two efforts and the European champions secured their spot in the last eight when Chloe Kelly smashed in the winning kick.
In an outburst of frustration, James stamped on Michelle Alozie’s back in the 87th minute after losing possession and was rightly shown a red card following a video assistant referee (VAR) review.
England were given an almighty scare but face Colombia or Jamaica next on Saturday. It was an excruciating watch for England supporters in Brisbane as the Lionesses played 120 minutes on a knife’s edge and were largely second best to Nigeria.
James’ petulance meant England had to navigate extra time with 10 players, and Nigeria had their tails up following a sustained period of pressure prior to the Chelsea star’s sending-off.
The nine-time African champions executed their gameplan to perfection, frustrating England, causing them problems on the break and winning almost every duel.
They hit the crossbar in each half, Ashleigh Plumptre’s powerful drive ricocheting off the woodwork before Uchenna Kanu’s header looped over goalkeeper Mary Earps and bounced off the top of the bar.
Earps was kept busy throughout, needing to produce smart saves to deny Plumptre at her near post in the first half and later keeping out Uchenna Kanu, who had an excellent performance.
Sarina Wiegman’s England side thought they had a penalty in the first half when Rachel Daly went down claiming a push by Rasheedat Ajibade, but it was overturned by VAR.
Advertisement
Eventually, England stumbled to the end of normal time lacking the fluidity they showed in abundance in the impressive display against China and held on to seal the deal in a shootout.
Only 24 hours earlier, back-to-back champions the USA were knocked out of the competition, and England were forced to show resilience to overcome one of their most challenging matches of Wiegman’s tenure.
Nigeria can leave with heads held high and their coach, Randy Waldrum had already praised his side’s efforts in escaping a group containing Olympic champions Canada, co-hosts Australia and plucky debutants the Republic of Ireland.
He said victory over European champions England could have had “significant implications” for the development of women’s football in Nigeria, but they can exit the tournament with their heads held high.
Advertisement
They more than matched England and carried momentum going into extra time, but just could not provide the ruthlessness that was needed.
“[The players] have been fantastic all tournament. We’ve played four matches, including against the Olympic gold medallists and the European champions and had clean sheets in those games.
“I’m so proud of them. They have such a bright future. The players came together in an unbelievable way. They just played their hearts out and I couldn’t be more proud of them.
“We can be and should be one of the top teams in the world. I think we have shown we’re capable of playing with anybody.”
Meanwhile, France coach Herve Renard has warned his team not to take Morocco lightly as they face one of the surprise packages of the Women’s World Cup in the last 16 on Tuesday.
Herve Renard
While France’s objective is to win a major women’s title for the first time, Morocco qualified for the last 16 at their debut World Cup against the odds and at the expense of Germany.
There are 67 places between the nations in the FIFA rankings as they clash in Adelaide with a place in the quarterfinals up for grabs. The match is also a special occasion for Renard, who managed the Moroccan men’s team for three years and took them to the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
“I have marvellous memories of my time in Morocco, but let’s focus on the football,” Renard told reporters on the eve of the game. “Even when we have a kickabout with friends we want to win, and we are here to win and qualify for the next round.
“The important thing is that we respect our opponents and the fact that this is a last-16 tie at a World Cup. Morocco are not here by chance. This is a match of the same calibre as our game against Brazil.”
France beat Brazil 2-1 on the way to topping their group, also defeating Panama after being held by Jamaica in their opening game while Morocco bounced back from a 6-0 hammering by Germany to beat both South Korea and Colombia and qualify in second place in Group H behind the South Americans.
“We respect them but we are focused on ourselves,” added Renard. “There is a lot of experience in this France team. I am here to guide them as well as I possibly can but I get the feeling that they would do just fine on their own if I were not here.”
The match sees Renard pit his wits against fellow Frenchman Reynald Pedros, a former France international as a player who has been in charge of Morocco since 2020.
“There will be just one French coach left in the quarterfinals,” Renard said. “I hope it will be me.”
Advertisement