Sports activities Information
England’s Lauren James was handed a purple card within the eighty fifth minute after stepping on the again of Nigeria’s Michelle Alozie.
BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — England received with out star Lauren James, who was ejected with a purple card, to beat Nigeria on penalty kicks Monday and advance to the quarterfinals on the Ladies’s World Cup.
The spherical of 16 match ended 0-0 after regulation and additional time, giving Nigeria an opportunity to win a knockout match on the Ladies’s World Cup for the primary time in 9 journeys to the worldwide match.
However European champion England received the shootout 4-2 when substitute ahead Chloe Kelly transformed the final kick.
England grew to become the title favourite after the two-time reigning champion U.S. group was eradicated Sunday in a penalty shootout loss to Sweden. However England struggled to create alternatives in opposition to Nigeria’s protection.
Then with 5 minutes remaining in regulation, England star ahead James was ejected after a VAR overview on her violent deal with of a Nigeria defender.
She initially was given a yellow card by referee Melissa Borjas after falling on high of Michelle Alozie and stepping on her along with her studs as James climbed off Alozie. The gang groaned as slow-motion replays on the stadium screens confirmed the play, and, after a delay of a number of minutes, the yellow card was changed with a purple card.
British media immediately reacted by evaluating it with David Beckham’s purple card for kicking out at Argentina’s Diego Simeone on the 1998 World Cup in France. The purple card means James will miss no less than one sport, and probably the remainder of the match.
The Lionesses instantly needed to change formation within the 10-on-11 state of affairs, bringing on Kelly to play a solo position up entrance.
Alozie was clear eight minutes into stoppage time however couldn’t management a left-foot shot from seven yards and skewed it huge of the put up.
Veteran ahead Asisat Oshoala compelled a save from England goalkeeper Mary Earps when she spun and fired a left-foot shot minutes from the tip of additional time.
After narrowly escaping with a win, England will meet Colombia or Jamaica in Sydney subsequent Saturday within the quarterfinals.
“It’s superb. Something that’s thrown at us. We’ve proven what we’re able to,” Kelly stated in a post-match TV interview. “We dig deep as a bunch and we imagine in our capability. This group is particular. We hold pushing ahead — there’s extra to come back from this particular.”
Nigeria coach Randy Waldrum, an American and coach of the College of Pittsburgh’s girls’s group, praised Nigeria for going wire-to-wire with top-of-the-line groups on the planet.
“I’m so happy with them, to come back in and play like we did tonight,” Waldrum stated. “We had each alternative to get it finished. Sadly, we couldn’t fairly get it finished. We had the most effective possibilities, we hit the crossbar twice. When it will get to penalties, its anybody’s sport.”
Uchenna Kanu threatened with two headers within the second half, one two minutes after the break that went simply over the crossbar and one other within the 72nd when she leaped to fulfill a nook kick however nudged again previous the close to put up.
Rachel Daly’s highly effective header as she bumped into the field to fulfill a nook within the seventy fifth minute was blocked by Chiamaka Nnadozie.
It was scoreless at halftime regardless of each groups creating alternatives and England having a penalty awarded however overturned on a VAR overview.
England had scored within the first half of its earlier eight World Cup video games, however wasn’t capable of beat Nigeria captain Nnadozie with two pictures on course.
Nigeria, the primary African group to advance unbeaten from the group and aiming for its first win within the knockout stage, had eight pictures within the first half and created the higher possibilities.
Within the seventeenth, Ashleigh Plumptre smashed a operating left-foot strike into the crossbar from the highest of the realm and, after it rebounded into play, her right-foot shot compelled a diving save from England keeper Mary Earps.
A half-hour in, referee Borjas awarded a penalty to England when ahead Daly seemed to be bumped to the bottom within the space by blue-haired defender Rasheedat Ajibade, nevertheless it was overturned on VAR and introduced a booming roar from the 49,461-strong crowd.
Star ahead Asisat Oshoala went on as an alternative because the hour approached as a substitute for Ifeoma Onumonu, with Nigeria aiming to breed the surge in assault her entry generated into the upset over co-host Australia 3-2 within the group stage. It generated extra depth, however no targets.
Nigeria had troubled the higher-ranked groups all through the match after opening with a 0-0 draw in opposition to Olympic champion Canada, the win over Australia and the 0-0 draw in opposition to Eire.
England superior atop Group D, after struggling to a 1-0 opener in opposition to Haiti and edging Denmark by the identical margin, the Lionesses unloaded with James scoring twice in a 6-1 win over China in a pool finale that drew a TV viewers exceeding 53 million in China.
Shedding James for no less than one sport shall be one other check of England’s depth after pre-tournament accidents to key gamers.
Beth Mead, who received the Golden Boot on the 2022 Euros, injured an ACL harm when taking part in for Arsenal in December. Leah Williamson, additionally taking part in for Arsenal, tore an ACL in April, and Fran Kirby can be lacking from the Ladies’s World Cup roster due to an injured knee.
Get the most recent Boston sports activities information
Obtain updates in your favourite Boston groups, straight from our newsroom to your inbox.