England had its star player Lauren James sent off in regulation time but advanced to the Women’s World Cup quarterfinals after beating Nigeria in a penalty shootout in Brisbane on Monday.
James was shown a red card in the 87th minute after a moment of madness late in the game, but 10-player England held on in extra-time to take the match to a shootout.
Despite missing the first penalty, England’s remaining spot kicks were close to perfect with Chloe Kelly, the woman for England’s big moments, hitting the winning spot kick into the roof of the net for a 4-2 win on penalties.
“We’ve been practicing [penalties] a lot actually, and yeah, it’s working,” Kelly told the BBC after the match. “For me, it’s I’m going to score and that’s how I look at it and once I win that mental battle, we’re good.”
Nigeria was the better team and had chances to secure what would have been a surprise win over the European champion, but in extra-time especially the Lionesses battled.
“Anything that is thrown at us, we show what we’re capable of,” Kelly continued.
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