Marta left the field in tears after being sent off for a dangerous high tackle during Brazil's 2-0 defeat to Spain in their final Group C game at the Olympics.

The Brazil great narrowly missed Olga Carmona's head with an out-of-control attempt to reach the ball in first-half stoppage time, receiving a straight red card in what could turn out to be her final-ever Olympic game.

Brazil needed a win to secure a place in the knockout rounds, but now they face a nervous wait to see if they will be one of the two best third-place teams in the last eight – a match they would have to play without their captain.

Athenea del Castillo eventually got the breakthrough after 68 minutes, before Alexia Putellas scored in the 107th minute to ensure they stayed perfect to top the group.

It was a dominant performance by La Roja, who created an expected goals tally of 2.75 from 27 shots compared to Brazil's 0.3 from 10 efforts.

Spain will face the best third-place team from either Group A or B in the quarter-final on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Japan also secured a spot in the knockout rounds with an emphatic 3-1 victory over Nigeria.

Japan stunned Brazil in the second group game and continued their momentum by getting the job done in the first half.

Maika Hamano and Mina Tanaka put them 2-0 up before Jennifer Echegini pulled one back for Nigeria.

However, Hikaru Kitagawa's strike just before the break restored Japan's two-goal cushion and held onto that lead to set up a meeting with the winners of Group B in the next round. 

Vanessa Gilles scored a 112th-minute winner as Canada put their off-field issues aside to beat hosts France 2-1 at the Paris Olympics on Sunday.

After being found guilty of using a drone to film opponents' training at this and past tournaments, the Tokyo champions had six points deducted, while head coach Bev Priestman has been banned from all football-related activity for one year.

The Canadian Soccer Association (CSA) are considering an appeal against the decision, but those controversies were put to one side when the team took to the field.

Starting the day bottom on -3 points, Canada, led by Andy Spence, had to come from behind to beat France after Marie-Antoinette Katoto put Les Bleues ahead just before half-time.

Jessie Fleming equalised from close range in the 58th minute, but Canada fought back, with Gilles getting some help from the woodwork to secure the win.

Meanwhile, Colombia's comfortable 2-0 victory over New Zealand means they now lead Group A after two games thanks to their goal difference.

Elsewhere, in Group C, Spain booked their place in the quarter-finals with a game to spare after a 1-0 win over Nigeria.

Alexia Putellas' long-range strike maintained La Roja's perfect start to the tournament as they bid to become the first team to win Olympic gold after lifting the Women's World Cup.

In the other group game, Japan ruined the party for Marta, who made her 200th appearance for Brazil in a shock 2-1 defeat.

Despite Mina Tanaka's penalty miss in the first half, Japan launched a comeback after Jheniffer's opener, with Saki Kumagai and Momoko Tanikawa both scoring in stoppage time to move second.

The game of the day came in Group B though, as Australia edged out Zambia in an 11-goal thriller.

Barbra Banda's hat-trick gave the minnows a 5-2 lead, but they could not hold onto it as Michelle Heyman made it 6-5 in the 90th minute to snatch a win.

Aitana Bonmati inspired Spain past Japan as La Roja started their Paris Olympics campaign with a 2-1 victory on Thursday.

Spain are aiming to become the first side to win Olympic gold after lifting the Women's World Cup, having defeated England in the final of that tournament last year.

Ballon d'Or winner Bonmati levelled after Aoba Fujino's stunning 13th-minute free-kick opener in Nantes, before the Spain midfielder teed up Mariona Caldentey's winner 16 minutes from time.

That result saw Montserrat Tome's side seize top spot in Group C ahead of Brazil, who edged past Nigeria 1-0 thanks to Gabi Nunes' first-half finish.

Elsewhere in Group A, defending champions Canada put off-field issues to one side by overcoming New Zealand 2-1 thanks to goals from Cloe Lacasse and Evelyne Viens in Saint-Etienne.

Canada's integrity had been questioned ahead of the game in the wake of a spying scandal, with assistant Andy Spence serving as head coach after Bev Priestman volunteered to sit out.

Priestman, two members of her staff and the Canadian Olympic Committee are being investigated by FIFA's disciplinary committee after a drone was spotted flying over New Zealand's training on Monday.

"Obviously the timing was quite terrible," said Canada captain Jessie Fleming of the drone incident after her side battled back following Mackenzie Barry's early opener.

"But I think for us, we've just leaned into each other as a player group and we really just want to focus on being here and playing."

Hosts France seemed on course for a routine victory in the other Group A game after Marie-Antoinette Katoto's first-half double and Kadidiatou Diani's goal against Colombia.

However, Catalina Usme pulled one back from the spot and Manuela Pavi further reduced the deficit nine minutes later, only for Mayra Ramirez's late red card to help France hold out for a 3-2 victory.

Meanwhile, Germany swept aside Australia 3-0 in Group B, inflicting the Matildas' joint-heaviest defeat at the Olympics, along with a loss against the same opponent by the same scoreline, at Sydney 2000.

Efforts from Marina Hegering, Lea Schuller and Jule Brand sealed the victory for the DFB-Frauenteam against the Tokyo 2020 semi-finalists.

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).”

England’s players will rally round Lauren James after her “Beckhamesque moment of madness” in the team’s penalty shoot-out victory over Nigeria in the World Cup last 16.

Former men’s national team striker Gary Lineker likened the 21-year-old Chelsea forward’s red card for petulantly standing on Michelle Alozie as she lay on the floor to Beckham’s kick-out at Argentina’s Diego Simeone at the 1998 World Cup.

“The @Lionesses down to 10 as Lauren James has a Beckhamesque moment of madness,” Lineker wrote on Twitter.

However, while the former Manchester United star’s sending-off contributed to the team’s difficulties, Sarina Wiegman’s side have progressed to the quarter-finals.

Criticism of James, receiving the side’s first red card since Millie Bright’s dismissal in the World Cup semi-final defeat to the United States in 2019, has been well short of what Beckham received and team-mate Lauren Hemp said she would receive the full support of the squad.

“It’s things that happen in football, it’s not nice to see a red card but I felt like going down to 10 players we dealt with it very well, we were super-resilient and didn’t let them score,” Hemp told BBC Radio 5 Live.

“It’s one of those things. We will get around Lauren James in the coming days, she’s still very young.”

James is likely to face a three-match ban for violent conduct, which would rule her out for the remainder of the tournament.

“We all know Lauren is magic, she is our weapon and it’s a big loss for us but we can’t change that now,” team-mate Beth England added on Radio 5 Live.

“We have an unbelievable squad and players who can fill in in that position and hopefully we can see her again in the tournament.”

Wiegman told Radio 5 Live it was a “very hard lesson to learn”, adding: “It happens unfortunately and of course she doesn’t want to harm anyone.”

Former England defender Anita Asante was critical of James’ 87th-minute reaction to her growing frustration in the game, which finished 0-0 after extra-time.

“I’m really disappointed. One act has kind of tarnished all the good work that Lauren James has done up until this point,” she told Radio 5 Live.

“She is a superstar and hopefully she will grow from this experience.”

Asante was also critical of a lacklustre performance.

“England will go back, analyse the game and hopefully there will be some hard truths in the changing room,” she added.

“They need to hold each other accountable, including that moment with Lauren James.

“England are very lucky to have progressed to the quarter-finals and they definitely need to step up performances if they want to get all the way to a final.”

Another former international Alex Scott was more positive, however, telling BBC One: “When you think about how you go on to win tournaments you need moments of luck, magic, finding a way – which they did.”

Chloe Kelly hailed England as a “special team” as she once again proved to be the match-winner by scoring the decisive penalty in a World Cup shoot-out win over Nigeria.

The European Champions were second best for much of their last-16 clash, with their chances of securing victory hampered by a late red card for Lauren James after a needless stamp on Michelle Alozie.

After a goalless 120 minutes, Georgia Stanway fired the first spot-kick of the shoot-out wide for England only for both Desire Oparanozie and Alozie to miss the target with their efforts.

With everyone else successful from the spot, it fell on Kelly to emphatically smash home the winning penalty, following on from her extra-time winner in the Euros final last summer and the decisive spot-kick in a shoot-out win over Brazil in the Finalissima in April.

“No, definitely not, it is the team,” she told BBC Sport when asked about once again being the match-winner.

“This team is special, we did it in the Euros, we did it in the Finalissima, we are here again tonight and doing it; we keep pushing forward and there is more to come form this special team.

“It is amazing, anything that is thrown at us, we show what we are capable of.

“We dig deep, we dig deep as a group, we believe in our ability; first and foremost we believe in what we are being told to do.”

Asked about what was going through her head as she walked up to take her penalty, the Manchester City forward replied: “For me, it is ‘I’m going to score’ – that is how I look at it, once I win that mental battle we are good.

“We have been practising (penalties) a lot actually and it has been working.”

England have reached the Women’s World Cup quarter-finals by beating Nigeria 4-2 on penalties.

England had Lauren James sent off late on as their World Cup last-16 clash with Nigeria ended 0-0 after normal time.

The 21-year-old forward, star of the Lionesses’ group stage matches with three goals and three assists, was dismissed in the 87th minute in Brisbane after standing on Nigeria’s Michelle Alozie.

James was initially shown a yellow card before VAR intervened, referee Melissa Borjas watched the incident back pitchside and it was changed to a red, leaving England with 10 players for extra time.

James and her fellow attackers had been effectively stifled by the Nigerian defence, while limited England chances included Alessia Russo and Rachel Daly being denied by Chiamaka Nnadozie, and the European champions also had a first-half penalty award for a challenge on Daly overturned via VAR.

Meanwhile, Nigeria had gone closer to breaking the deadlock, twice hitting the bar, through Ashleigh Plumptre in the first half and Uchenna Kanu in the second.

England's Euro 2022-winning defender Demi Stokes respects players from France, Spain and Nigeria for taking a stance on conditions in women's football ahead of the World Cup.

The preparations of several teams for the tournament in Australia and New Zealand – which begins on July 20 – have been impacted by disputes between players and coaches or federations.

Earlier this year, France dismissed head coach Corinne Diacre after a group of players – including captain Wendie Renard – refused to represent Les Bleues under her.

The Lyon skipper has since been recalled by Diacre's successor, two-time Africa Cup of Nations winner Herve Renard. 

Meanwhile, 15 players told the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) they would no longer play under Roja boss Jorge Vilda last September, citing impacts on their "emotional state", though the RFEF has stood by the embattled coach. 

Manchester City left-back Stokes – who was an unused member of the Lionesses squad that won last year's Euros before being overlooked for the World Cup – believes the players involved have their teams' interests at heart.

"Obviously, Wendie Renard has her reasons for why she doesn't want to play for France," she said, speaking at the launch of Pixel FC, a collective of dedicated women’s football creators helping to close the visibility gap within women’s football.

"Without people like Wendie taking a stance – if you look at the Spanish team as well – there's not going to be changes.

"All they're asking for is change [in response] to the challenges, and they are just being authentic to themselves.

"If they said they are not playing for France and then go and play for France, people won't take them seriously. So, I respect what they've done.

"Hopefully things can change, things can be resolved and things can be put into practice to help these players, protect these players and support them. 

"When players take a stance, I think it just shows the characters that they are."

Only three of the Spain rebels – Mariona Caldentey, Aitana Bonmati and Ona Batlle – have been recalled, with Stokes' City team-mates Leila Ouahabi and Laia Aleixandri among those frozen out.

Asked who she was backing in the Spain dispute, Stokes said: "I don't know, I think it's very different when you're in that situation. 

"I've got team-mates who have taken that stance and stuck by it, and then equally you've got players who want to play, and I think everyone's very different. 

"I can't be the one to judge and say, 'you're wrong or right'. It wouldn't be easy for me to just say I'd do that, because in the moment, it can be very different."

Nigeria have also seen their World Cup preparations hampered by an internal quarrel, with players threatening to boycott games if the Nigerian Football Federation reneges on an agreement to split revenue from the tournament.

Asked if she thought the Nigeria squad would follow through on that threat, Stokes said: "I'm not sure. 

"Hopefully they can resolve their issues, and it's probably never nice to boycott, but if they take that stance then they're doing it for a valid reason and they're doing it for a bigger picture and a bigger cause."