The England women's team managed to reach the quarterfinals of the World Cup with the utmost difficulty. Thanks in part to a red card for Lauren James, Nigeria came dangerously close to a massive upset.
England, considered one of the favorites as the European champions, faced a tough challenge against Nigeria. In the first 15 minutes, the team ranked 40th in the world rankings came very close to scoring an opening goal twice. British-born Ashleigh Plumptre first struck the crossbar with a powerful shot and then posed another threat. Goalkeeper Mary Earps made a tremendous effort to prevent England (ranked fourth) from falling behind early.
In the 23rd minute, a massive defensive mistake by Nigeria gave the European champions their first chance. However, Alessia Russo failed to capitalize on the blunder and saw Chiamaka Nnadozie make the save. Nigeria was left stunned when England was awarded a penalty later on. Rachel Daly went down easily during a set-piece situation. The VAR overturned the decision, much to the relief of the Super Falcons.
Shortly after halftime, the crossbar denied Nigeria once again when Uchenna Kanu headed dangerously towards the goal from the second post. England improved their performance towards the last quarter of the game. The most dangerous moment came from Daly, who came close to breaking the deadlock from a corner.
Five minutes before the end, Lauren James brought disgrace to her team. The star player for England, who scored two goals and provided three assists in the previous match, a 6-1 victory over China, stepped on an opponent's back and was sent off after VAR intervention. Nigeria pushed for a goal in extra time, but England held their ground despite being a player down.
Penalties
In the penalty shootout, England emerged victorious. The start was dramatic as Georgia Stanway missed the target completely with her first penalty. Desire Oparanozie for Nigeria also failed in the same way. After a successful penalty by England, Michelle Alozie also missed by a significant margin. Rachel Daly then showed how it's done by firing the ball into the top corner. The final decision came when Chloe Kelly also scored a fantastic penalty.
