Player ratings
Match report
The (serial) matchwinner Chloe Kelly speaks
It’s amazing. Anything that’s thrown at us, we show what we’re capable of. We dig deep as a group and we believe in our ability.
We’ve been practising penalties a lot and, yeah, it’s working! When I walk up to take a penalty, I think, “I’m gonna score”. That’s how I look at it. Once I win that mental battle, we’re good.
[On scoring another winning goal] Nah, [it’s] definitely not [about me]. It’s the team. We did in the Euros, we did it in the Finalissima and we did it again here. We keep pushing forward. There’s more to come from this special team.
Australia v Denmark is about to kick off in Sydney. Join Jonathan Howcroft for that one.
Read all about it
James’ ban might mean a switch to 4-1-2-3, especially now that Keira Walsh is fit. That can wait until tomorrow, or rather Saturday when they play Colombia or Jamaica in the quarter-finals.
An update on Lauren James’ ban
She will definitely miss the quarter-final. Anything more that is at the discretion of Fifa’s technical committee. It will be at least a two-match ban and probably three. Sad though it is, it should be a three-match ban.
So much for a comfortable path to the semi-finals. England were outplayed by a brilliant Nigeria side, who created the best chances before and after Lauren James was sent off for stamping on Michelle Adozie. Sarina Wiegman made an important tactical adjustment, moving from 3-3-2-2 to 4-4-1, and England defended admirably in extra-time. They might have conceded a penalty when Lucy Bronze shoved Michelle Alozie from behind, but Jess Carter, Alex Greenwood and Millie Bright were immense – throughout the match, not just in extra-time.
Kelly smashed the penalty through Nnadozie, who got hands on it but couldn’t keep it out. Nnadozie lies on her back in tears. Kelly and Greenwood immediately go to console her, and Kelly waves the camera away, a lovely touch of humanity.
KELLY SCORES AND ENGLAND GO THROUGH!
England 0-0 Nigeria (4-2 pens) After the mother, father and extended family of scares, England are in the quarter-finals!
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If Chloe Kelly scores, England are in the quarter-finals
Ucheibe scores! England 3-2 Nigeria
A lovely penalty, passed coolly to the right. Earps didn’t dive.
Greenwood scores! England 3-1 Nigeria
England are one save away from the quarter-finals. Greenwood, outstanding in the main game, sends Nnadozie the wrong way.
Ajibade scores! England 2-1 Nigeria
Earps actually dived past Ajibade’s penalty, which was slightly to the right of centre.
Daly scores! England 2-0 Nigeria
Rachel Daly smashes a mighty penalty into the top-left corner! Nnadozie didn’t have a chance of saving that.
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Alozie misses! England 1-0 Nigeria
She’s smashed it over the bar! You have to feel for all these players, who are experiencing pressure like never before.
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Beth England scores! England 1-0 Nigeria
A good penalty, curled high to her right. Nnadozie went the right way but couldn’t reach it.
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Oparanozie misses! England 0-0 Nigeria
A carbon copy of Stanway’s penalty!
Stanway misses! England 0-0 Nigeria
She’s smashed it wide of the left-hand post! Nnadozie went the wrong way and it flashed just past the post.
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This is it: a penalty competition for a place in the quarter-final. Georgia Stanway is first.
England have won the toss and will bat first and will take the first penalty. That’s historically a slight advantage in penalty competitions.
. Photograph: Dan Peled/Reuters
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“I’m often reminded of the thought that if we were all judged by the worst thing we’ve ever done, we’d be in a pretty sorry state,” says David Horn. “James did a bad thing, she received the punishment it deserved. This does not make her the second coming of Satan, merely someone who did a bad thing. Once. Shall we all move on?”
The number of critical and/or abusive emails in the past half an hour would suggest not.
England’s penalty takers will probably be, in no particular order, Greenwood, Zelem, Daly, Stanway, Kelly.
Nigeria were much the better team, before and after Lauren James was sent off for stamping on Michelle Alozie in the 85th minute, but England defended admirably – if a little desperately – and Mary Earps didn’t have too many saves to make. England need her to make some saves now, and she’s studying an iPad as I type.
Full time: England 0-0 Nigeria
An England World Cup campaign is never complete without a penalty competition.
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120+3 min Thirty seconds to go.
120+1 min Ajibade’s cross is headed up in the air on the six-yard line, and Bright jumps highest to nod it partially clear. Beth England is then fouled on the edge of the England area.
120 min Three minutes of added time.
120 min: England substitution Keira Walsh is replaced by Katie Zelem, a regular penalty-taker for Man Utd.
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119 min Greenwood launches a long free-kick into the Nigeria area. It’s headed on by England, near the penalty spot, and Bright just can’t reach it on the stretch.
Bright was offside so it wouldn’t have counted had she scored. It wasn’t really a chance for Beth England, who was stretching and could only really help it on.
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118 min “Can you stop making excuses for an English player who stomps someone because she’s frustrated?” writes Bruce. “Her true character is revealed under pressure, as was Wayne Rooney’s. Surely we had enough English entitlement throughout the Ashes.”
Which part of ‘nobody is defending her’ didn’t you understand? And while you’re at it, read up on the difference between an excuse and a reason.
117 min Oshoala, 10 yards out, hooks a shot on the turn straight at Earps.
115 min Ajibade and Daly both go down holding their heads after jumping for a high ball.
114 min: Nigeria substitution Desire Oparanozie replaces Toni Payne.
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113 min “Is this the first occasion,” writes Brian Withington, “of an England team actively looking forward to penalties?”
112 min England look really weary. But they are defending heroically, particularly Carter, Bright and Greenwood.
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111 min John Roach (44 min) always knew it would end like this.
110 min Ohale’s long ball forward just evades Ordega, who drags it into the side netting from a very tight angle. Play continues, so presumably there was no problem with that Bronze clearance a moment ago.
109 min A deep cross hits the unsighted Bronze, who flinches a little sheepishly as the ball is cleared. That didn’t hit her arm, did it?
107 min “Can you clarify the comment on James?” asks Phil Harrison. “It’s a three-game ban for a straight red?? That seems incredibly harsh doesn’t it?”
Not when it’s violent conduct; that’s standard I think. Had it been, say, handball on the line it would have been a one-match ban.
Having said that, at France 98 Zinedine Zidane received a two-match ban for an identical incident.
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106 min Peep peep! England have 15 minutes to survive.
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England substitution Beth England replaces Lauren Hemp. That’s a good move because Kelly was struggling to keep the ball.
Half time: England 0-0 Nigeria
England are hanging on. The BBC panel think VAR should have got involved after Bronze’s shove on Alozie. It can be hard to judge the degree of contact, especially in slow motion, but the more you see it, the more it looks like it should have been a penalty.
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105 min “I don’t disagree,” writes Giancarlo M. Sandova in response to my response in the 95th minute. “And the English media is surely to blame for the lack of empathy, it just seems to me that this gets blown out of proportion for other nations, when there are similar considerations at play in those cases.”
The English media isn’t a single organism, though. I mean, I’m sure there are times in the past when I’ve blown such incidents out of proportion for other nations, and indeed for England, and I was an idiot.
104 min Beth England, who is such a good lone frontrunner, may be about to come on. That would be a good move; you could then move Kelly wide in place of Hemp, who looks shattered.
103 min Oshoala scorches past Greenwood on the left and chips a cross that curves onto the top of the bar. It had gone out of player before hitting the bar.
103 min It’s all Nigeria. Oshoala tries a spectacular overhead kick and is penalised for a high boot.
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101 min Nigeria’s last penalty competition was, I think, the Afcon semi-final last year, when they lost to Morocco. But the only player who missed, Ifeoma Onumonu, has already gone off today.
98 min: Great chance for Alozie! A long ball forward isn’t cleared by the under-pressure Bright. Echegini plays it left to Alozie, who slices a weary shot wide of the near post with her left foot. That was a terrific opportunity.
96 min England won a penalty competition against Brazil in the Finalissima in April. The penalty takers that day were Stanway, Toone, Daly, Greenwood and Kelly. Toone missed, but the four who scored are currently on the field.
95 min “While I understand the English perspective on this, I feel this was rather terrible, unsportsmanlike behaviour from James,” says Giancarlo M Sandoval. “Latin American countries get billed as aggressive the whole time and get some criticism because of it, it’s also fair that James’ behaviour doesn’t just get explained away.”
There’s a difference between an explanation and a justification, surely. Nobody is defending her, but she’s a kid who has been exposed to a rarefied pressure and hype that we will never experience, and who made an impulsive, split-second mistake that will probably haunt her forever. If we’re not going to have a bit of empathy in those circumstances, we might as well all pack up and go home.
93 min We’ve seen a replay now, and Bronze shoved Alozie in the back. It was similar to the challenge on Daly that led to a penalty that was subsequently overturned. This time a penalty wasn’t given on the field, and VAR doesn’t get involved. I’d like to see that again. It often looks worse in slow motion but Bronze took a big risk.
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92 min Alozie, who started at right-back but is playing up front now, goes over in the area after a challenge from Bronze. It looked like a collision rather than a foul, though we haven’t seen a replay.
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91 min Peep peep! Jennifer Echegini has replaced Halimatu Ayinde, whose work is done.
In other news, a consequence of Lauren James’ red card is that, whatever happens here, her tournament is over.
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“Lauren James can at least comfort herself,” says Thomas Atkins, “that the English public are usually so reasonable and understanding when a young star player gets sent off for a moment of red mist in a crucial World Cup knockout match…”
Arf. If she gets a tenth of the Beckham treatment (dartboard, ‘Ten Brave Lionesses, one stupid girl’, etc), I’ll be unpleasantly surprised.
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Full time: England 0-0 Nigeria
It’s going to extra time. England were in a desperate fight for survival even before Lauren James was sent off for stamping on Michelle Alozie. Nigeria have been brilliant, outplaying the tournament favourites. England are still in the World Cup, just about.
90+6 min Nothing much is happening. England are managing this pretty well, for now.
90+5 min “I guess sometimes,” says Niall Mullen, “deserve has got something to do with it.”
90+4 min England are doing well to pass the clock down, at least until the end of regulation time. I’m surprised Nigeria didn’t go in for the kill when James was sent off. The longer it stays 1-1, the more comfortable England will get.
90+3 min “I’m always surprised to see professional athletes of the calibre of James lash out that rashly,” says Kári Tulinius, “but on the other hand, playing in a World Cup knockout match is about as high stakes as it gets, so if you’re going to snap, it’ll be then.”
Especially if you’re still young, you’ve been hyped to the heavens for the past week, and then you barely get a kick in the biggest game of your life so far. It’s a story as old as time, or least as old as football.
90+2 min England have switched to a 4-4-1, with Daly on the left of midfield, Hemp on the right and Kelly up front. Jess Carter is at left-back.
90+1 min Six minutes of added time.
90 min It’s not uncommon for a great young player to be sent off at a World Cup, certainly in the men’s game. Maradona, Rooney, Zidane and the rest. Everything is heightened: the joy, the euphoria, the skill – but also the frustration when things don’t go their way. And we must say that Nigeria, particularly Halimatu Ayinde, dealt with James immaculately.
88 min: England substitution Chloe Kelly replaces Alessia Russo. I’ve no idea what England’s formation is now, except that there are nine outfield players.
87 min Lauren James walks straight off the field without complaint. Nigeria have frustrated her all night, and she took it out on Michelle Alozie. Football, eh.
JAMES IS SENT OFF!
England are down to 10 players.
85 min: Lauren James is going to be sent off. The referee is going to the monitor.
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84 min James pulls left to receive a long ball from Bright. She controls it beautifully and tries to cut inside Alozie, who coolly dispossesses her. Both players fall over, and a frustrated James stamps on Alozie’s backside and is booked. She could be in big trouble here…
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83 min Nigeria have been sharper than England all night, and there’s no sign of them fading. They’ve been quite magnificent.
82 min Payne’s free-kick is headed wide at the far post by the under-pressure Oshoala. A quarter-chance, at best.
81 min: Nigeria substitution Francisco Ordega replaces the superb Uchenna Kanu.
80 min “Hello Rob,” says Phil West. “Re: 69 min, I think William Munney should get the credit he deserves - not that that’s got anything to do with it.”
79 min A booming, overhit backpass from Stanway is calmly chested down by Earps. But then Hemp gives the ball away in a dangerous area to Oshoala. She feeds Kanu, whose very deep cross from the right is headed back towards Oshoala on the edge of the area. She belts the bouncing ball over the bar under pressure.
76 min: Fine save by Nnadozie! Greenwood teases a corner towards Daly, who runs towards the near post and then powers a downward header back across goal. She doesn’t quite get enough flick on it, though, and that allows Nnadozie to plunge to her right to make a really good reaction save.
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75 min Earps is okay and play resumes. England keep the ball for 30 seconds or so, probing for an opening, with Stanway eventually finding space for a low cross that is turned behind by Demehin. That was really good play from England.
73 min Mary Earps needs treatment, which gives Sarina Wiegman the chance to get the team in a huddle. She’s having a long chat with Rachel Daly.
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72 min Payne’s floated corner is headed back across goal and wide by Kanu. Stanway, who was on the near post, had it covered.
71 min Oshoala pulls wide to win a corner off Greenwood. England are right on the edge here.
70 min Sarina Wiegman is having an animated chat with her assistant Arjun Veurink, but there’s still no sign of a change.
69 min “Talk of moral victories always puts me in mind of the wise words of Felicia ‘Snoop’ Pearson: ‘Deserve got nothin’ to do with it.’”
Another one for the big MBM book of topical references.
68 min Payne screams in her surname after a late challenge from James, who might have been booked. The referee played the advantage but didn’t go back to give James a yellow card.
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67 min “Get Toone on for Russo and stick Daly up front with Hemp and James either side,” says Steve Hoare. “Back to 4-3-3. Possibly bring Chloe Kelly on for either of the wide players. It doesn’t look like their day but maybe with support from Bronze and Greenwood and some nice triangles with Toone and Stanway things might pick up. All the front players look like they’re struggling on their own at the moment. It’s just not joined up.”
66 min Stanway vrooms the corner onto the roof of the net.
66 min “Wiegman has been so impressive as England manager, she always seems to pull the right strings,” says Neal Whittle. “Fascinating to see what she comes up with, England need her tactical nous more than ever.”
I’m surprised she’s been so passive. That said, England have been better in the last 5-10 minutes.
65 min Carter does very well to harass Ajibade and win a throw for England deep in the Nigeria half. It leads to a shot from Hemp that is deflected over the bar.
63 min “Well that’s it, isn’t it?” says Charles Antaki. “Oshoala on. to turn a so-far moral victory into an actual one…”
Let’s not talk about moral victories. I’m still pining for the Ashes.
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61 min I’d be tempted to bring on Katie Zelem to stiffen the England midfield and take off either Lucy Bronze or Rachel Daly, who have both struggled defensively. Jess Carter goes to full-back, James moves wide and England have a more solid 4-3-3.
60 min: Chance for Daly! They haven’t played well, but England are still creating opportunities. Stanway’s cross from the right is shinned wide on the volley by Daly, who got in front of Kanu at the far post but couldn’t get over the ball.
58 min: Nigeria substitution Now then. The Barcelona superstar Asisat Oshoala replaces Ifeoma Onumonu up front. Life is about to get even tougher for the England defence.
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57 min “Is it me or is this game being played at a significantly higher standard than the Sweden-USA match?” says Christopher Dobson. “In the latter the passing was inaccurate, the lack of cohesion frustrating and the defending naive and basic. This looks high-skill, high-tempo stuff to me. And the halftime pundits are excellent - not missing grizzled ex-Prem grifters one bit. Sh1thousery on show though...”
I’d agree with that, especially the tempo.
56 min: Chance for England! Greenwood’s wicked free-kick from the left is headed wide by Russo, eight yards out. She had to jump slightly backwards, otherwise she would probably have scored.
55 min England have been repeatedly exposed in wide positions, which is a risk you take with a back three. Anita Asante called it perfectly in her tactical preview.
54 min Wiegman has got to change to a back four because England are getting a chasing. Kanu breaks into space down the right and slides a superb first-time cross that only just evades Onumonu at the near post.
53 min “NZ Sky coverage said ‘contact in the back + over-acting = no penalty’,” writes Susan Hall. “Which is probably a fair call in a VAR world.”
But… the protocol. Won’t somebody think of the protocol. (Let’s move on, I’m starting to bore myself never mind anyone else.)
52 min Ajibade slides a lovely pass down the inside-left channel to Payne, whose first-time cross is headed behind by Bright. Nigeria are bossing this.
51 min Walsh’s long pass, similar in intent to the one for Ella Toone against Germany, is slightly overhit and bounces through to the keeper.
50 min Sarina Wiegman must be tempted to switch to a back four, if only to move Lauren James wide and away from her marker Ayinde. She could switch to 3-4-3 with Hemp and James wide.
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49 min “The longer this match drags on scoreless the more England should beware the Nigerian substitutes, who include nominative determinism superstars-in-waiting Desire and Glory,” says Peter Oh. “They also brought a Gift, although it remains to be seen if she is here to give or to receive.”
48 min Nigeria have been fantastic in this game.
47 min: Kanu hits the bar! Nigeria come out flying for the second half. Ajibade lofts a high cross beyond the far post, where Kanu gets above Daly and powers a head off the top of the bar! Earps probably had it covered, though I wouldn’t put the farm on it.
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46 min Peep peep! Here we go then: death or glory, no other options are available.
The consensus of the BBC panel is that it shouldn’t have been a penalty for the challenge on Rachel Daly. I would probably agree with that, but not with the process to overturn it. THERE’S A PPROTOCOL TO IT! A VERY SIMPLE PROTOCOL! EVERYBODY’S A SUSPECT!
(But if the foul was originally given for a shirt pull outside the area, protocol is alive and well and the referee is a genius.)
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“Stop obsessing about the process,” says Vikram Karekatte. “It wasn’t a penalty! I can imagine what the storyline in England would’ve been had a Nigerian player done what Daly did - it would’ve been labelled a dive! That’s an unbiased view from an Aussie in Sydney, who, by the way, reckons Bairstow should’ve been recalled by our cricketers at Lord’s. Oh... and Go Matildas a bit later!”
You’re right, Daly did make the most of it, though I would dispute that it was a dive because she did receive a stiff arm in the back. But are we saying referees should just ignore the established Ifab protocol? What could possibly go wrong with that.
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Half time: England 0-0 Nigeria
So, about that easy path to the semi-finals. England are fighting for their lives after a pulsating first half that was dominated by Nigeria. Leicester’s Ashleigh Plumptre hit the underside of the bar with a monstrous half-volley, and forced Mary Earps into an excellent save moments later.
England were awarded a controversial penalty for a foul on Rachel Daly, which was then controversially overturned by VAR. Lauren James was kept very quiet by her marker Halimatu Ayinde, and Chiamaka Nnadozie only had a couple of relatively comfortable saves to make.
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45+4 min The camera cuts to Sarina Wiegman, who waves a fist in frustration.
45+3 min “Not a legitimate tactic,” says Robert Speed, “in that it ought not work per the laws. She didn’t have the ball remember.”
Does that matter? (That’s a genuine question, not a passive-aggressive one.) I really do need to start reading the laws every night before the bed.
45+3 min Stanway comes nicely down the right with Bronze, who just overruns the ball in the area.
I wish the BBC would sync the audio and pictures. It’s becoming quite distressing.
45+2 min “No penalty for me Rob,” says Gary Naylor. “No real push, contact instigated by Rachel Daly and a slightly exaggerated fall point to a little professionalism from the forward and not much more than naivety from Ajibade. Clear and obvious? Not for me Clive, but that’s in the eye of the beholder isn’t it?”
So are you saying it wasn’t a clear and obvious error? Incorrigible loser than I am, I’m more interested in the process than whether it was a foul that merited a penalty. Unless it was originally given for the attempted shirt pull, I don’t think the decision should have been overturned under the current VAR parameters. But I concede that VAR has turned my brain to pittle.
45+1 min Four minutes of added time. Bronze flips a dangerous pass/cross towards Hemp that is acrobatically intercepted by Demehin. Fine defending.
45 min Don’t forget Nigeria’s best player, Barcelona’s Asisat Oshoala, is likely to come on in the second half. England are well and truly in a game here.
44 min “This BBC lag,” says John Roach, “is going to completely spoil the penalty shootout.”
43 min Now it’s Nigeria’s turn to attack. After a slowish start, this has been a cracking first half.
42 min “Surprised it was overturned, but that was not a penalty,” says Robert Speed. “Daly stopped her run which caused the Nigerian player to run into her back. Daly tried to buy that as she knew a sudden stop would cause the contact.”
Isn’t that a legitimate tactic, in the same a forward can cut across a defender in the area? I’ll be honest, since the introduction of VAR I know less and less about the laws.
41 min Stanway’s flat, driven corner is headed away to the edge of the area, and this time James slices a right-footed volley well wide. I’d be disinclined to give her too many of those opportunities.
40 min Stanway makes an excellent in to out run, onto a fine pass from Carter, and wins another corner.
39 min Greenwood’s corner is punched away to the edge of the area, where James cushions a left-footed volley high over the bar.
38 min Hemp beats Demehin for pace on the right and moves into the area, but Demehin makes a brilliant recovery challenge. This is pulsating stuff.
37 min The corner is headed wide under pressure by Plumpte. A half chance.
36 min: Chance for Nigeria! Onumonu somehow threads a cutback towards Ajibade at the near post. She turns Carter beautifully and hammers a shot that is superbly blocked by Bright. It rebounds to the onrushing Ucheibe, and Carter makes an even better – and braver – block to deflect the ball behind for a corner.
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35 min I’m not sure about that. Ajibade leaned into Daly and pushed her over. You can argue it wasn’t a foul, but it certainly wasn’t a clear and obvious error. The only explanation I can think of is that the referee gave the penalty for the attempted shirt pull outside the area, which would have been a clear and obvious error.
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NO PENALTY!
Hmm.
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Ah, I think I know what happened. Ajibade tried to pull Daly’s shirt outside the box, then leaned on her inside the box. I assumed the foul was given for the latter, but if it was for the attempted shirt pull, it will be overturned.
VAR check The referee’s going to the monitor! My word, I didn’t expect that.
It’s a softish penalty but I’ll be very surprised if it’s overturned. Ajibade leaned into Daly with her arm, and Daly accepted the invitation.
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PENALTY TO ENGLAND! Greenwood swings in the free-kick, Daly goes down and the referee points to the spot. Nigeria aren’t happy.
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31 min James, who is starting to come into the game, draws a foul from her marker Ayinde. From which…
29 min The BBC lag (see 18 min) is exceedingly irritating.
28 min: Chance for Daly! Greenwood’s near-post corner from the right ricochets to Daly, who cracks a right-footed volley straight at Nnadozie from 10 yards. It came at an awkward height, so she did pretty well to get it on target.
27 min Carter crosses deep towards James, whose audacious hooked volley hits her shadow Ayinde and flies over the bar.
25 min Zelem and Stanway worked really well together against China. Stanway is slightly further forward today, to allow Walsh to dictate play; whether that’s a factor in England’s poor performance thus far, who knows. The formation is roughly 3-3-2-2 when England have the ball, 3-4-1-2 when they don’t.
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23 min: Good save from Nnadozie! Demehin shanks an attempted clearance straight to Russo, who drills it first-time towards goal from 20 yards. Nnadozie, a fair way off line and eminently chippable, dives to her left to make a good save.
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23 min Bright fires a pass into James, who is bullied off the ball by Ayinde. She’s winning that contest hands down, so far.
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22 min England haven’t got going at all. On the touchline, Sarina Wiegman looks less than grunted.
20 min I’m still reeling from that shot by Plumpte, a sweet-spotted half-volley that hit the bar even before it had left her foot!
18 min In an exceptionally annoying development, the BBC commentary in the UK is about a second ahead of the pictures, so we knew Plumpte had hit the bar even before she’d kicked the ball.
Commentary slightly ahead of the play again on BBC, so Robyn is sounding like a clairvoyant
— Tim Stillman (@Stillmanator) August 7, 2023
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16 min: Plumpte hits the bar! At the moment Nigeria are bossing the game. Greenwood makes two vital defensive headers, the second of which bounces towards the onrushing lumpte, 25 yards out. She screams a spectacular left-footed shot that crashes off the underside of the bar! Then, moments later, Plumpte reverses a right-footed shot that is dramatically saved to her right by the diving Earps. What a moment that would have been for Ashleigh Plumpte, who played so much youth internationals for England.
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15 min Halimatu Ayinde is marking Lauren James, and so far has kept her very quiet. This is something James will have to get used to over the next few years.
13 min Payne’s outswinging corner is met by Alozie, whose thumping header from 12 yards is nodded away by Russo iun the six-yard box. That might have been going on.
12 min Ajibade drives a superb crossfield pass to find Kanu on the right. Her cross is blocked by Greenwood and goes behind for another corner.
10 min Payne drives a high, hanging corner that is headed down into the six-yard box and booted clear by Carter. This is a good spell for Nigeria.
9 min Another cross from Ajibade is punched behind by Earps. It was going wide anyway but she took no chances.
7 min Nigeria’s first attack is a promising one. Payne teases Bronze with a series of stepovers and finds Ajibade, whose cross is headed away by – do I even need to tell you this – Millie Bright.
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5 min The corner comes to nothing. But England will be very pleased with their start; the first five minutes have taken place almost exclusively in the Nigeria half.
4 min A strong start from England, who win the first corner on the right. Greenwood will take it…
2 min “Brilliant opener in that tweet from the Nigerian team,” says Charles Antaki. “If the England players are coming in singing Swing Low Sweet Chariot, please don’t let the FA show it.”
1 min Peep peep! Lauren James gets the game under way, with England kicking from left to right as we watch.
As the national anthems begin, here’s a reminder of the teams.
England (possible 3-4-1-2) Earps; Carter, Bright, Greenwood; Bronze, Stanway, Walsh, Daly; James; Russo, Hemp.
Substitutes: Charles, Toone, Nobbs, Hampton, Wubben-Moy, Morgan, Coombs, Kelly, England, Zelem, Roebuck, Robinson.
Nigeria (possible 4-2-3-1) Nnadozie; Alozie, Ohale, Demehin, Plumptre; Ucheibe, Ayinde; Kanu, Payne, Ajibade; Onumonu.
Substitutes: Oluehi, Balogun, Ogbonna, Ebi, Oshoala, Oparanozie, Monday, Ordega, Echegini, Imuran, Okoronkwo, Abiodun.
Referee Melissa Borjas (Honduras).
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Tonight’s winners will play Colombia or Jamaica in Sydney on Saturday, kick off 11.30am BST/WAT.
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Video: A reminder of Lauren James’ outrageous performance against China (UK only)
⚽ Two goals
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) August 7, 2023
🅰️ Three assists
Lauren James was in incredible form last time out. More of the same today?
Watch #ENG v #NGA in the last 16 of the #FifaWWC on @BBCiPlayer and @BBCOne 📺 pic.twitter.com/Rn3PyRSKTk
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“Am up early to jinx this one,” writes Ian Copestake, “but have a good feeling in my water. I also need to see a doctor about that.”
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After an understandably rusty performance against Haiti, the England captain Millie Bright has been increasingly majestic. She spoke to Suzanne Wrack.
In the win over China, Lauren James was a pedantic offside decision away from a hat-trick of assists and goals. Suzanne Wrack profiles a rare talent.
Anita Asante on the tactical battle
“Afternoon Rob,” writes Phil Withall. “I’m just heading to the stadium now. It’s a bit damp in Brisbane but there a lot of people heading to Brisbane Stadium. A fair smattering of Nigerian supporters. It should be a fine atmosphere.”
The Nigeria keeper Chiamaka Nnadozie, playing her second World Cup at the age of 22, has been one of the stars of the tournament so far. If Nigeria are to cause an upset today, she may well have to do a Musovic.
Updated
Nigeria’s team includes Ashleigh Plumptre, a former England youth international. Sarah Rendell tells her story.
Nigeria team news: Oshoala on the bench
Blimey, Asisat Oshaola isn’t in the Nigeria starting XI. That can only be due to the thigh injury that has dogged her during the tournament. But as we saw against Australia, she can have a matchwinning impact from the bench. Nigeria’s plan will be to stay in the game for an hour or so and then bring her on.
Ifeoma Onumonu replaces Oshoala in the only change from the 0-0 draw with the Republic of Ireland.
Nigeria (possible 4-2-3-1) Nnadozie; Alozie, Ohale, Demehin, Plumptre; Ucheibe, Ayinde; Kanu, Payne, Ajibade; Onumonu.
Substitutes: Oluehi, Balogun, Ogbonna, Ebi, Oshoala, Oparanozie, Monday, Ordega, Echegini, Imuran, Okoronkwo, Abiodun.
Updated
England team news: Walsh starts
As expected, the fit-again Keira Walsh replaces Katie Zelem in midfield. That’s the only change from the win over China, which suggest Sarina Wiegman will stick with the new 3-4-1-2 system. You would, wouldn’t you, after that performance.
England (possible 3-4-1-2) Earps; Carter, Bright, Greenwood; Bronze, Stanway, Walsh, Daly; James; Russo, Hemp.
Substitutes: Charles, Toone, Nobbs, Hampton, Wubben-Moy, Morgan, Coombs, Kelly, England, Zelem, Roebuck, Robinson.
Updated
When Keira Walsh was stretchered off against Denmark, everyone feared she was the latest England star to suffer an ACL injury. Ten days later, she is available for selection.
Preamble
Hello, good day and welcome to live coverage of England v Nigeria in Brisbane. I don’t know how to tell you this, but England are in genuine danger of winning the World Cup. The USA, Germany and Norway – who between them have won seven of the eight Women’s World Cups – have all boarded flight DO1, while Spain lost some of their lustre when they were hammered 4-0 by Japan. There are still some very fine teams left in the competition, but England are officially the favourites.
Few would have predicted this after an injury-hit side laboured to 1-0 wins over Haiti and Denmark. Then Sarina Wiegman, who barely changed a thing during England’s triumphant Euro 2022, reacted to Keira Walsh’s injury by switching to 3-4-1-2 and making three changes. The result was a spectacular 6-1 victory over China.
Lauren James stole the show with an extraordinary individual performance, though there were so many other plusses. Lucy Bronze and Rachel Daly are natural wing-backs, Lauren Hemp was a revelation up front alongside Alessia Russo and Katie Zelem was almost flawless in midfield. Zelem may be replaced by Walsh, who has recovered from her knee injury and trained yesterday, but there are unlikely to be any other changes.
Nigeria are an improving side, who have already beaten the hosts Australia and eliminated the Olympic champions Canada. They have a number of fine players and one superstar in the Barcelona forward Asisat Oshoala. England’s other opponent today is subconscious complacency. There has been a lot of talk – probably too much, and let’s be honest this preamble isn’t helping – about a favourable route to the semi-finals.
The objective truth is that, all things being equal, England will win today and then beat Colombia or Jamaica in the quarter-finals. But the reality is that, in this fantastic, epohcal World Cup, hardly anything has been equal.
Kick off 8.30am in London and Abuja, 5.30pm in Brisbane.
