The Chelsea star was inexplicably sent off before the European champions came through the last 16 by the skin of their teeth
England made it through to the Women's World Cup quarter-finals by the skin of their teeth on Monday, beating Nigeria on penalties after being second-best to the Super Falcons all evening in Brisbane. A stupid red card from Lauren James made their task even harder, but nerves of steel were shown in the shootout to avoid an embarrassing last-16 exit.
Nigeria settled well in the first half and were incredibly close to breaking the deadlock when Ashleigh Plumptre hit the woodwork with a fierce strike, with her forcing a good stop out of Mary Earps moments later, too.
But England had chances, too, most notably when Alessia Russo forced a great save out of Chiamaka Nnadozie, who needed to deny Rachel Daly from a corner not long after. The Lionesses thought they had their biggest chance yet to break the deadlock when a penalty was given against Rasheedat Ajibade for a push on Daly, but it was overturned.
It was the African side that always looked the more likely to win it, though, with England regularly riding their luck until a moment of madness from James reduced them to 10. The Chelsea star stupidly stepped on Michelle Alozie and was dismissed in the 87th minute. Fortunately for them, Nigeria could not capitalise and it was Chloe Kelly who was the hero in the penalty shootout, smashing home her spot-kick to send the Lionesses through.
GOAL rates England's players from Lang Park in Brisbane…
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Mary Earps (6/10):
Made a great stop to deny Plumptre in the first half. Was the only thing she had to do, really.
Jess Carter (4/10):
Struggled to play out from the back, often hitting hopeless long balls.
Millie Bright (6/10):
Kept the ball well and was strong in her duels.
Alex Greenwood (6/10):
Did her defensive work well but wasn't as influential on the ball as usual. Scored her penalty.
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Lucy Bronze (5/10):
Some poor touches meant she gave the ball away a lot more than usual.
Keira Walsh (4/10):
Had good moments in possession when she got on the ball but wasn't allowed to be influential by Nigeria's pressure. Completely marked out of the game.
Georgia Stanway (4/10):
Battled well in midfield but lacked incision on the attack. Missed her penalty.
Lauren James (1/10):
What on earth was she thinking?! Couldn't get involved in the game and then had a moment of madness that saw her sent off. Incredible.
Rachel Daly (4/10):
Decision-making going forward was slow and poor. Had a couple of chances she could've done better with. Took a great penalty.
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Alessia Russo (4/10):
Made a good defensive intervention to block an Alozie header but was very ineffective in the final third, unable to put away a great early chance after a defensive error.
Lauren Hemp (4/10):
Couldn't get anything going in the final third.
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Chloe Kelly (6/10):
Replaced Russo in the final moments of regulation time but couldn't get involved at all with England down to 10 players. Showed absolute nerves of steel to win it in the shootout though with a superb penalty.
Beth England (N/A):
Came on for the final 15 minutes of extra-time. Showed good energy and desire to make things happen, even if it was tough to do so when England were down to 10. Scored her penalty.
Katie Zelem (N/A):
Came on in the final moments for Walsh.
Sarina Wiegman (3/10):
In-game management was really poor. Did little to combat how well Nigeria's press was working and the fact that players like James and Walsh were being marked out of the game, while her substitutions were also incredibly late. Got away with one, here.