Despite failing to score in regulation and an 87th-minute red card that trimmed their squad to 10 women, England survived its Round of 16 matchup with Nigeria on penalty kicks. It’s the fifth consecutive quarterfinal berth for the Lionesses.
England nailed four of its five penalty shots while Nigeria only hit its final two. Chloe Kelly played savior for England with her winning strike but immediately ran over to embrace and console Nigerian goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie after the victory.
That type of sportsmanship was in direct juxtaposition to what happened earlier in the match with English forward Lauren James and Nigerian defender Michelle Alozie. In the 87th minute, James pushed an already down Alozie and then stomped on Alozie’s back. James was initially given a yellow card before VAR stepped in and issued a red card, which disqualified her from the match.
That decision by the 21-year-old James will be costly for England. James, who scored three goals and assisted three more during this World Cup, won’t be eligible to play in England’s quarterfinal match against either Colombia or Jamaica. She could also be subject to a harsher suspension by FIFA.
Neither team could do much offensively throughout this contest.
The two sides combined for 30 shots, with Nigeria owning a slight six-shot lead. But while England enjoyed more shots on goal and more corners, the play of Nnadozie, Nigeria’s goalkeeper, kept the score locked at 0-0 for the entirety of the contest. She finished with eight saves.
In the end, England’s experience on penalties led to their salvation. England and Nigeria both missed their first kicks, but England nailed the rest of its attempts. The final shot by Kelly secured the win and didn’t give Nigeria a chance for a rebuttal after they missed their second shot as well.
England did see the return of star Keira Walsh, too, just 10 days after she was stretchered off against Denmark with an apparent non-contact knee injury.
There was always a chance Walsh could play after England manager Sarina Wiegman acknowledged Walsh started practicing again the day before the match. But Walsh didn’t just see the field, she played for 120 minutes and was substituted out just before the end of extra time.
Sam Kerr returns in Australia‘s 2-0 win
The World Cup host made light work of Denmark in its Round of 16 match.
Australia scored in the 29th and 70th minutes to move on to the quarterfinals for the first time since 2015. It’ll face either France or Morocco. Four years ago, the Matildas lost in the Round of 16 to Norway after three consecutive quarterfinal appearances in previous tournaments.
Mary Fowler delivered a precise through ball on a counter attack to Caitlin Foord, who had open field between her and the goal keeper to sink the score and give Australia the early lead in the 29th minute.
Denmark had a few chances to draw even but missed a header on a 32nd-minute corner kick and sent a bad cross in the 44th minute.
The Matildas doubled their lead in the 70th minute with some shifty passes inside the box. Fowler connected with Emily Van Egmond right in front of goal, and she then sent the ball to Hayley Raso for the strike and score.
Sam Kerr finally returned to the pitch for Australia as well after she missed her team’s first two matches with a calf injury and didn’t see action versus Canada. She entered the game in the 80th minute — after Australia built a 2-0 lead — and looked like her old self in a sprint down the sideline and a shot on goal. Kerr has 63 career goals in 122 appearances for Australia since 2009.
With a recovered Kerr and a big win behind them, the Australians are looking stronger and stronger. Only seven host countries have ever won the World Cup (six of them were men’s teams) and the last and only women’s team to do it was the United States in 1999.
