England boss Sarina Wiegman admitted “sweetest person” Lauren James “lost her emotions” as she received a red card that could see the 21-year-old miss the remainder of the World Cup.
The Lionesses advanced to the quarter-finals after surviving James’ dismissal late in the second half to beat Nigeria on penalties, with Euro 2022 hero Chloe Kelly scoring the winning spot-kick in a 4-2 shoot-out success.
James’ brace and two assists earned her player-of-the-match honours against China, but this time she was sent off after it was ruled she had deliberately stepped on the back of Nigeria defender Michelle Alozie with three minutes of normal time remaining of a game that ended goalless after 120 minutes.
Wiegman, who had not watched the incident back, said: “She’s an inexperienced player on this stage and has done really well, and I think in a split second she just lost her emotions.
“And of course she doesn’t want to hurt anyone. She’s the sweetest person I know, and things happen like that and you can’t change it anymore, so it’s a huge lesson for her to learn, but of course it’s not something that she really did on purpose.”
Wiegman said she personally delivered a similar speech to James, adding: “Of course she apologised and she felt really, really bad.”
James became the fourth England player to be sent off in a World Cup knockout match after David Beckham, Wayne Rooney and current England captain Millie Bright, who was shown a second yellow against the United States in the 2019 semi-finals.
Chelsea forward James, who made her World Cup debut against Haiti, faces at minimum a one-match ban, but that could be extended by FIFA’s disciplinary committee to three which would see her miss the rest of the tournament even if the Lionesses reach the final.
England’s spirits were high to begin Monday night’s contest in Brisbane, where midfielder Keira Walsh made a remarkable return from what many thought was a tournament-ending knee injury 10 days ago against Denmark.
Walsh played 120 minutes against Nigeria before being substituted but Wiegman said: “She was cramping a little bit, so we had to take her off, but she’s OK.”
Wiegman benefitted from a healthy side en route to England’s Euro 2022 triumph, but after dealing with multiple injury problems in the run-up to the tournament and coping without key presence Walsh and now breakout talent James, she admitted: “I have never experienced so many problems, but of course it’s my job to think of things that can happen in a game or in a tournament or ahead of the tournament.
“So you try to turn every stone, and then try to already think of a solution if things happen, and today we got totally tested on those turned stones.”
Nigeria had impressed throughout the group stage and were no different against England, twice hitting the crossbar and frustrating the Lionesses by employing a higher press for this knockout encounter.
But England held on in James’ absence to ensure their destiny would be decided by spot-kicks, with Bethany England, Rachel Daly, Alex Greenwood and Kelly all scoring after Georgia Stanway fired the first wide.
“I’m really proud of the team,” added Wiegman. “We’ve had many setbacks. I think this (James red card) was a big one too.
“We had to reorganise and do something else on the pitch and we didn’t need any minute to do so.
“And of course players got really, really tired, but we really stuck together and showed a lot of resilience.”
Nigeria head coach Randy Waldrum, whose contract with his federation is soon set to expire, said: “They just played their heart out. I couldn’t be more proud of them. I take away that we can be and probably should be one of the top teams in the world.
“I certainly hope that FIFA ranking goes from 40 to a better number than that, but more importantly I think we’ve shown that we’re capable of playing with anybody.
“I think we gave some teams that are still alive in this tournament at least a blueprint of how to approach (England).”
Slegers maintains unbeaten Arsenal start with statement Juventus win
Renee Slegers claimed the biggest win of her time as Arsenal's interim head coach as they beat Juventus 4-0 in the Women's Champions League on Tuesday.
Since taking over from Jonas Eidevall, Slegers has led the Gunners to four wins from her five games at the helm, though their most recent result was their most impressive.
After seeing Alessia Russo and Emily Fox denied by smart stops from Pauline Peyraud-Magnin, the Gunners eventually made the breakthrough seven minutes from half-time.
A well-worked team move saw Caitlin Foord pick out Frida Maanum inside the box, with the Norwegian remaining calm and finishing into the far corner.
Fox again went close with an effort that crashed the crossbar, but Arsenal finally got their second when substitute Stina Blackstenius fired the ball home in the 75th minute.
Mariona Caldentey, another substitute made by Slegers, grabbed the Gunners' third before Foord sealed a statement win at the Stadio Comunale Vittorio Pozzo Lamarmora.
Heading into Tuesday's match, Arsenal were winless across their last three Champions League away matches (D1 L2), but were worthy winners in Italy this time around.
They accumulated an expected goals (xG) total of 2.5 from their 17 shots, compared to Juventus' 1.06 from their 12 attempts during the contest.
In the other early kick-off taking place on Tuesday, Barcelona romped to a comfortable 7-0 victory over St. Polten, helped by a flurry of goals at the end of the first half.
With the game level after half an hour, Ewa Pajor opened the scoring in the 32nd minute after turning home Ona Batlle's cross at Carina Schluter's front post.
Kika Nazareth then doubled Barca's advantage six minutes later before Pajor notched her second of the game after being picked out by Ballon d'Or Feminin winner Aitana Bonmati.
Keira Walsh then curled a wonderful effort into the far corner from the edge of the box as Claudia Pina concluded the 13-minute onslaught on the stroke of half-time.
Barca notched their sixth from the spot after Kamila Dubcova brought down Batlle, with Pina sending Schluter the wrong way, before Caroline Hansen completed the scoring to move her side onto six points in Group D.
Upamecano: Mbappe shown 'lack of gratitude' in latest France omission
Dayot Upamecano believes a "lack of gratitude" has been shown towards France team-mate Kylian Mbappe after his latest omission from Les Blues' Nations League squad.
Mbappe was not included for France's upcoming fixtures against Israel and Italy as a "one off", according to Didier Deschamps.
The France captain also missed Les Bleus' last two matches, being rested despite his return to fitness in time for the October international break, with Mbappe coming under scrutiny for his absence.
The 25-year-old played the duration of Real Madrid's 4-0 win over Osasuna at the weekend, but was unable to find the target for the fourth game in a row.
Mbappe has netted six goals in 11 LaLiga appearances since his move from Paris Saint-Germain, but has underperformed his season's expected goals (xG) total by 2.04.
He has also scored 48 goals in 86 outings for his nation, along with helping them claim the 2018 World Cup and 2020-21 Nations League title.
Despite the recent speculation about Mbappe's absence from the side, Upamecano leapt to the defence of his team-mate and is hopeful for a swift return to the France set-up.
“Am I worried [about Mbappe]? No. You can’t forget what he’s done for the France national team. We lack a bit of gratitude towards him," Upamecano said.
"I hope to see him again quickly. You can’t forget that he is our captain."
When asked if Mbappé’s absence could be due to physical or mental fatigue, Upamecano expressed understanding for his team-mate’s situation.
“There are many games, and I mentioned this at the start of the season. We’re human, and mental well-being is a big factor for us.
"I won’t go into details, but as I said, he’s our captain, and I hope he’ll be back with us soon. He’s very important to us.”
Gakpo feels 'more dangerous' for Liverpool under Slot
Cody Gakpo believes he has become a more "dangerous" player after returning to his preferred left-wing role under new Liverpool boss, Arne Slot.
Gakpo, who joined the Reds in January 2023, was often deployed in a central striker role under Jurgen Klopp during his first 18 months at Anfield.
Across his 53 appearances for Liverpool last season, 27 came as a centre forward, with the remaining 26 coming on either flank or in the attacking midfield position.
The Dutchman, however, has registered eight goal contributions (six goals, two assists) in 17 appearances in all competitions this season, all but one of which has come from the left wing.
Gakpo has found the net four times in his last four outings for the Reds, which included a brace against Brighton in the EFL Cup to propel them into the quarter-finals.
Speaking about the switch, he told Men in Blazers: “Before I came to Liverpool I also played as a left-winger. Then I came here, and I started to play more as a central striker.
“At the Euros, I played as a left-winger again. Then this season the new manager came in. I had a talk with him, and he said, ‘You have to focus on the left-winger position.
"This is your position when you come on or when you start.’ Because he said there’s a lot of competition here, so you just have to show yourself. But he said, ‘That is going to be your position.’
“It felt a little bit, for me, like the old me, like what I did at PSV [Eindhoven] as well. I feel really good in this position. I try to show my best to everybody, what I’m capable of.
“I think I come into more one-v-ones now with my face towards the opponent, where I can really go inside and give a cross, shoot or go outside and give a cross – which is more my game, I would say, and where I think I can be really dangerous and help the team the most.”
Liverpool have enjoyed a fine start to the season, sitting top of both the Premier League and Champions League tables heading into the November international break.
Slot has earned 28 points from his first 11 top-flight games in charge (W9 D1 L1), the joint-most by a manager after as many games in the competition along with Guus Hiddink at Chelsea.
The Reds also remain the only side with a 100% record in the Champions League and have edged closer to defending their EFL Cup crown this season.
And Gakpo, who played a part in the Reds' win over Chelsea in the final of that competition last year, is eager for that fighting spirit to help bring more success to the club.
“I see those [as] separate,” he said. “When I’m on the pitch, [I’m] really there to win the game, to show my quality," Gakpo said.
“I think one of my qualities is going inside and going for a goal or maybe going for an assist. As an attacking player, I think that’s also part of the job.
“Outside of the pitch, I tend to be a different guy – it’s more about life and development, mental growth, health growth with family, with friends.
"I just try to be myself and I’m very happy that people speak so nicely of me, so thank you everybody!
“Obviously when you come on the pitch, it’s game on. You have to think a little bit different – maybe not that nice in some ways because you have to win.
"But for me, it will never be personal. Out there, [I’m] just trying to do my best for the club and to win these games for the fans, for myself, for the team.
"When the referee blows the last whistle then the switch flips again and then I’m back to normal again.”
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