England, on Monday, defeated the Super Falcons of Nigeria to advance to the quarter-finals of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
England won 4-2 on penalties after a goalless draw, despite Lauren James’ petulant red card.
It was another game where the lesser-deserving team made it into the last eight on penalties, almost a carbon copy of the USA’s exit to Sweden.
After the delight of seeing Keira Walsh return to the XI following her knee injury, Sarina Wiegman stuck with a 3-5-2 that did so well against China.
However, England reverted back to the laboured performances of the opening two group games, as Nigeria registered 20 shots to England’s 12.
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The game got worse for them too as James was sent off in the 87th minute after a frustrated and avoidable stamp on the back of Michelle Alozie.
She will now miss the quarter-final, and perhaps more if FIFA decide to punish her further.
England rode the wave of Nigeria pressure to take the game all the way to penalties.
The shootout began with a Georgia Stanway miss, but this was followed by two further misses from the Super Falcons to hand the Lionesses control.
England did not let the advantage slip either, scoring the remainder of their spot kicks – the decisive penalty taken by Euro 2022 winning goalscorer Chloe Kelly – and booking a quarter-final spot, where they will face either Jamaica or Colombia.
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