England overcome Lauren James red card to scrape past Nigeria on penalties

By Rachel Steinberg, PA, Brisbane

Substitute Chloe Kelly added another memorable moment to her Lionesses CV when her spot-kick secured 10-woman England a place in the World Cup quarter-finals after a dramatic shoot-out with Nigeria in Brisbane.

It was not all elation for England, however, after Lauren James was shown a straight red card following a VAR review late in the second half that could see her banned for the remainder of this tournament.

Midfielder Keira Walsh returned for the first time since she was caried off the pitch on a stretcher in England’s 1-0 group stage victory against Denmark, and played 120 minutes of a dramatic contest.

Nerves of absolute steel.pic.twitter.com/vSk2A9KVE0

— Lionesses (@Lionesses) August 7, 2023

England were not at their best, but dug deep to ensure the match finished goalless after extra time, with Euro 2022 hero Kelly firing in the decisive penalty in a 4-2 shoot-out success.

Nigeria manager Randy Waldrum also made just one change from his world number 40-ranked side’s final group stage match, swapping five-time African women’s footballer of the year Asisat Oshoala for Ifeoma Onumonu.

With four top-10 sides already eliminated, including double defending champions and world number one the United States, the Lionesses were looking to avoid becoming the next heavyweights sent packing.