Tottenham ace Bethany England scores from the spot as the Lionesses advance to the last eight
England got away with one as they scraped past Nigeria on penalties to qualify for the quarter-finals at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, with Tottenham striker Bethany England scoring a crucial spot-kick Down Under.
Nigeria, who are ranked 40th in the world, put on an impressive display to draw 0-0 with 4th-ranked England, who were reduced to 10 players after Lauren James’ upgraded straight red card but, in the end, were cruelly eliminated via a penalty shoot-out.
It was a poor performance from Sarina Wiegman’s side, who were offered a get-out-of-jail-free card when the last 16 clash went to spot-kicks, with neither side able to find a way through during 120 minutes of football.
Although they did not play well, the Lionesses will take a lot of confidence in knowing that when the going got tough, and the pressure was on, they stood together and faced it as a team.
They were staring down the barrel of a World Cup exit after James was sent off for a stamp, following a retrospective VAR decision. Throughout normal time the Super Falcons struck the crossbar twice and will be left wondering how they are the team going home.
VAR was not England’s friend throughout the contest after its involvement in James’ red card and the decision to overturn a penalty for the Lionesses prior to the sending-off.
Tottenham star England had a big part to play in her nation’s qualification after she was substituted on during extra time in place of Lauren Hemp. During her time on the pitch, she had one shot off target, registered a successful passing accuracy of 75 per cent, made one tackle, and won three ground duels as well as two aerial duels (Sofascore).
Her most important contribution, however, came during the penalty shoot-out. After Georgia Stanway and Nigeria’s Desire Oparanozie missed the first two attempts from the spot, England stepped up to take the third and rifled it home.
This goal set her country on the way and settled nerves within the squad at just the right moment.
Despite keeping themselves in the tournament, England will know they need to play a lot better in the quarter-finals. With both the top two nations in the FIFA Women’s rankings, USA and Germany, having been surprisingly eliminated from the tournament, the competition is wide open and England will be one of the favourites to lift the trophy.
They will be in last-eight action on Saturday 12 August against the winners of Colombia or Jamaica, who are set to meet on Tuesday 8 August.
In other Tottenham News, Rebecca Spencer has had her say ahead of Jamaica’s knockout stage clash.