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England through to World Cup quarterfinals after beating Nigeria in shootout

Fourth-ranked England face either Jamaica or Colombia in the quarterfinals in Sydney on Saturday

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England players celebrate their victory after a penalty shoot-out. — AFP

By Reuters

Published: Mon 7 Aug 2023, 8:31 PM

England dumped Nigeria out of the Women's World Cup in a last-16 penalty shootout on Monday with Chloe Kelly scoring the decisive spot-kick, following a 0-0 draw over 120 nerve-jangling minutes.

Beth England, Rachel Daly and Alex Greenwood also converted in a 4-2 shootout win for the European champions, who had a player sent off in regulation time.

"It's amazing. Anything that's thrown at this team, we show what we're capable of," Kelly told the BBC. "We dig deep as a group and we believe in our ability."

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England played with 10 women through extra time after forward Lauren James, their top scorer with three goals in the group stage, was sent off in the 87th minute for an ill-tempered stamp on the back of Michelle Alozie after the two went down in a tangled heap.

"This team is special, we did it in the Euros, we did it in the Finalissima (a shootout win against Brazil), and we're here again tonight and doing it," added Kelly, who scored the winner in the Euro 2022 final against Germany. "And we keep pushing forward. There's more to come from this special team."

Misses by Nigeria's Desire Oparanozie and Alozie set up Kelly for the winner, and the Manchester City forward scored with a shot to the top right corner before being swarmed by teammates.

On her approach, she said: "It's 'I'm going to score'. That's how I look at it. Once I win that mental battle, we're good."

Fourth-ranked England face either Jamaica or Colombia in the quarterfinals in Sydney on Saturday. James will receive at least a one-game suspension.

Coach Sarina Wiegman said the 21-year-old James lost her emotion in "a split second ... it's not something she really did on purpose. She doesn't want to hurt anyone."

The Lionesses, who are unbeaten in 36 of their last 37 games, looked at times under Nigeria's intense pressure like they might become the latest top-10 casualty in a World Cup of terrific parity.

"I just know I'm 10 years older," Wiegman joked. "I think the game was very equal. Nothing is easy in this tournament and that's very exciting ... it's not the expected teams that have won all the time."

England keeper Mary Earps, named player of the match, said the Finalissima shootout in April was a terrific warmup for Monday's drama in front of 49,461 fans at Lang Park.

"I don't even practice a shootout to be honest," Earps said. "It's a very special moment, a very special pressure-cooker."

Meanwhile, co-hosts Australia welcomed captain Sam Kerr to the fray for the first time in the tournament as they beat Denmark 2-0 to reach the quarterfinals at Stadium Australia on Monday.

Forwards Caitlin Foord and Hayley Raso scored the goals either side of halftime before Kerr, who has been absent with a calf injury, came on as a 78th-minute substitute to the biggest roar of the night from the crowd of 75,784.

Australia, who have reached the last eight at three previous World Cups but never gone further, move on to meet either France or Morocco in Brisbane on Saturday with a place in the semifinals on the line.

"We were under a lot of pressure that first half but we didn't get rattled," said Australia coach Tony Gustavsson.

"The team is very mature playing tournament football and can find a way to get it done."

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Reuters

Published: Mon 7 Aug 2023, 8:31 PM

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