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England secured a hard-fought victory against Nigeria in the round of 16 on Monday, winning 4-2 in the penalty shootout and advancing to the quarterfinals in the Women’s World Cup.
Both teams missed their first penalty kick. Beth England from England scored their first and Michelle Alozie from Nigeria continued the trend of missing. Then Rachel Daly scored the second for England.
Although Nigeria’s following subsequent goals kept their hopes alive, England didn’t give their opponent any more chances as Alex Greenwood and Chloe Kelly sealed the match with a final score of 4-2.
In the group stage, the title favorite England achieved an impressive record of three wins from three matches while the Nigerian team made it out of the “group of death” without suffering defeat, including an impressive 3-2 victory over the co-hosts Australia.
Facing the fourth-ranked team in the world, Nigeria, ranked 40th, showed no fear, relying on their physical advantages. Obviously they hope to make history as no African team had secured a victory in the knockout stage before.
In the 17th minute, Nigeria’s attack created a minor flurry. Ashleigh Plumptre and Uchenna Kanu both took consecutive threatening shots on goal.
Five minutes later, due to a defensive passing mistake by Nigeria, England’s Alessia Russo seized the opportunity, going one-on-one and shooting directly, only to be saved by the goalkeeper.
The 32nd minute was possibly England’s closest opportunity to victory during regular time. Nigeria’s Rasheedat Ajibade was penalized for tussling with Daly during a free-kick. However, after a VAR review, the penalty was overturned and cancelled by the referee.
A dramatic scene happened as Lauren James received a red card for infringement in the 87th minute. This left the Lionesses with a more challenging situation, as they had to play with only 10 players on the field.
However, no winner was determined in regular and extra time, and the match was dragged into a penalty shootout.
England will face the winner of the match between Colombia and Jamaica on Saturday.
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