Chloe Kelly added another memorable moment to her Lionesses career as 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 for a stamp on Michelle Alozie following a VAR review late in the second half which could see her banned for the remainder of this tournament.
Midfielder Keira Walsh returned for the first time since she was carried off the pitch on a stretcher in England’s 1-0 group-stage victory against Denmark and played 120 minutes of a dramatic contest.
England were far from their best and were lucky not to exit the tournament in 90 minutes, but dug deep to ensure the match finished goalless after extra time, with Euro 2022 hero Kelly firing in the decisive penalty.
The European champions largely remained camped inside Nigeria’s half for the first 10 minutes, before the Super Falcons began to build momentum.
Georgia Stanway’s stumble led to their first real chance as Uchenna Kanu directed a header at the England goal but was blocked at the last by Millie Bright’s clearance.
Randy Waldrum’s side threatened again as former England youth international Ashleigh Plumptre came within inches of an opener when her attempt clipped the underside of the crossbar and it took a brilliant save by Earps to stop the ex-Leicester defender soon after.
The Lionesses were then initially awarded a penalty when Rasheedat Ajibade initially appeared to shove Daly inside the area, Stanway convinced enough she started stepping up to the spot, but the decision was reversed after Honduran referee Melissa Borjas was sent to check the pitchside monitor.
James, largely subdued after her two-goal, three-assist performance against China, then saw an effort sail over.
It was the Super Falcons who attacked first in the second half, Kanu’s nodded effort catching the woodwork, while England struggled to find the same fluidity they displayed in their 6-1 rout of China – a side ranked 26 places above Nigeria.
Waldman brought on his most fearsome weapon in Bronze and Walsh’s Barcelona team-mate Asisat Oshoala, the five-time African women’s footballer of the year with whom they lifted the Champions League trophy in June.
Stanway was next to try to get a misfiring England going with a delivery from the right to find Daly, who volleyed wide.
England were lucky when Kanu spun a header past the right post as they searched for a solution to Nigeria’s relentless physicality before a fine stop from Chiamaka Nnadozie firstly prevented Daly nodding in from six yards and then Russo from the left.
It was the Nigerian fans whose voices echoed loudest as they earned another free kick and continued to pile the pressure on England.
Things went from bad to worse for Wiegman’s side when another call to the monitor ruled James had deliberately stamped on the back of Nigeria defender Alozie and she was sent off with three minutes of normal time remaining.
“Eye of the Tiger” blasted over the speakers as the Lionesses willed themselves to fight through extra time a player light and again breathed a sigh of relief when Alozie should have given Nigeria the lead but missed a big chance at the near post.
England doggedly defended their way through as Wiegman made just her second substitution, swapping Lauren Hemp for Bethany England at the 106-minute mark after replacing Russo with Kelly after 88 minutes.
Earps kept the Lionesses in it when she calmly caught Oshoala’s effort from inside the penalty area as Walsh’s comeback finally came to a close and the Lionesses calmly closed out extra time to ensure their World Cup destiny would be decided by spot kicks.
Stanway, whose penalty was the only goal in England’s 1-0 opening victory against Haiti, stepped up first but this time fired wide of the left post, reprieved when Desire Oparanozie sent hers to the exact same spot.
Beth England, who did not play a single minute of England’s Euro 2022 triumph last summer, pumped her fist in the air when she fired past Nnadozie and Alozie skied her effort as the Lionesses turned to Rachel Daly.
The Women’s Super League Golden Boot winner gave the Nigerian keeper no chance with a perfectly-placed penalty to the top corner before Ajibade beat Earps.
Greenwood and Christy Ucheibe both converted and so it was up to Kelly, who, with another significant contribution on the global stage, fired England through.
“We have the manpower within the dressing room”- Sammy confident Windies can overcome 0-2 deficit against England
West Indies white ball head coach Daren Sammy says there’s still optimism in his camp that they can overcome the 0-2 deficit they currently face in their five-game T20I series against England.
The hosts lost the first two game of the series at the Kensington Oval in Barbados on Saturday and Sunday, with the rest of the series now shifting to the Daren Sammy Stadium in St. Lucia beginning with the third T20I on Thursday.
“Most definitely, especially here in St. Lucia,” Sammy said in a pre-match interview on Tuesday regarding his team’s optimism ahead of Thursday’s must-win game and the rest of the series.
“Yes, England have played better cricket than us in these first two games but I’ve rallied St. Lucia to come out and be the 12th man that we need here. We just haven’t played the brand of cricket that has allowed us to win and it’s something that we’re going to address but we have the manpower within that dressing room to win on Thursday and take it one game at a time,” he added.
The West Indies will be without two key players for the rest of the series in Andre Russell and Shamar Joseph.
Russell suffered an ankle injury in the first T20I on Saturday and has been ruled out for the rest of the series while Joseph has left the squad to prepare for the upcoming Test series against Bangladesh starting on November 22 in Antigua.
Replacing the pair are all-rounder Shamar Springer and spearhead Alzarri Joseph, returning to the squad after serving a two-game suspension.
“It’s always a blow to replace somebody like Andre Russell. We have young Shamar Springer who made his debut in Sri Lanka to replace him. He’s a really exciting prospect,” Sammy said.
“Shamar will go in and get ready for the Test series and Alzarri is back from his suspension. We’re looking forward to welcoming him and the experience he brings to the squad. Yes, we lose two key guys but we get two guys who are capable of doing the job for the team as well,” he added.
Harwood-Bellis 'didn't quite believe' first senior England call-up
Taylor Harwood-Bellis revealed he was in a state of disbelief when he was told about his first call-up to the England senior team last week.
Harwood-Bellis, along with Newcastle's Lewis Hall, received their maiden Three Lions call-ups in Lee Carsley's final squad as interim head coach.
The Southampton defender has impressed under Russell Martin this season, featuring in all of their Premier League fixtures so far this season.
Harwood-Bellis has won more aerial duels (13) for the Saints in the top-flight this term, with only Jan Bednarek (888) completing more passes than the 22-year-old (684).
He is also someone well known to the interim boss from his time in charge of England's Under-21's side, with his 21 appearances more than any other player during Carsley's tenure in the current Three Lions squad.
"Lee Carsley rang me in the morning and said, 'you'll be with us, with the seniors'. I didn't quite believe it at first," he told a press conference.
"My partner was next to me and I phoned my dad, who was very proud. He loves when I play for England, even the younger age groups.
"One of the first people to message me was Aaron Ramsdale. I was happy to see his name as he's one of my mates at the club."
Unfortunately for Harwood-Bellis, Ramsdale has since pulled out of the squad with a finger injury and has been replaced by Burnley's James Trafford.
England travel to Athens to take on Group B2 leaders Greece on Thursday before returning to Wembley three days later as they square off against the Republic of Ireland.
With a number of first-team regulars out through injury, Harwood-Bellis has the opportunity to become the first Saints player to represent England since Kyle Walker-Peters did so back in 2022.
The defender understood the potential ramifications of performing well for the Three Lions during this international break, with Thomas Tuchel taking over in the new year.
"It will be a big motivation for all of the lads, knowing that there's a new manager coming in and wanting to keep your spot," he said.
"That's something that especially the younger lads will be pushing towards.
"It's going to be difficult because of the quality and experience in some of the lads that aren't here is massive.
"It'll be difficult, but it'll be something that I'll focus on week in and week out for Southampton and if I get minutes here."
Chelsea quartet left at home as Bompastor rotates squad for Celtic clash
Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastor has said that they will be without four key players ahead of their Champions League game away to Celtic on Wednesday.
Bompastor confirmed that Millie Bright, Mayra Ramirez, Sjoeke Nusken and Kadeisha Buchanan have not travelled to Scotland for their encounter at Celtic Park.
The Blues know a victory will seal their progression to the knockout stages, though have decided to rest a few of their key players during a hectic fixture schedule.
Their trip to Scotland will be the second of three matches inside seven days in all competitions for Bompastor's side and, as a result, she has decided to rotate her squad.
"The squad is in a good place and we have a good dynamic and we are full of confidence," she told a press conference
"We have been playing a lot of games and this week we play three games so it’s important to manage players as individuals.
“We have some players who didn’t travel for this game. Kadeisha Buchanan, Millie Bright, Sjoeke Nusken and Mayra Ramirez didn’t travel."
Chelsea come into the game with a 100% record in all competitions under Bompastor, including two wins from two against Real Madrid and Twente in the Champions League.
And they will be confident of maintaining their perfect run, having lost just one of their previous 20 group stage matches in the competition (W14 D5) and are unbeaten across their last 14 (W11 D3).
“As you know, Chelsea have a good squad with quality and a good team will start the game and be competitive because we want to finish first in this group," she said.
Their early-season form has them second in the Women's Super League and top of their Champions League group, at least three points ahead of any other team.
Despite resting players, Bompastor reassured people that it was Chelsea's ambition to fight on all fronts.
“The Champions League is important and we have ambition and we want to make sure we finish first in the group," she said.
“We have ambitions and if we want to go for all the competitions then you need to beat every team.
“It will start again in March and that’s when the really important games start, but right now we are focused on the group stage.”
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
