Yahoo News England v Nigeria: Lionesses through to FIFA Women's World Cup quarter-final after victory on penalties
The Lionesses have secured a place in the quarter-finals of the Women's World Cup after a dramatic penalty shootout win over Nigeria.
England were reduced to 10 players with three minutes of normal time remaining after Lauren James stamped on the back of Nigeria's Michelle Alozie in what Gary Lineker called "Beckhamesque moment of madness".
But the Lionesses held on in extra-time to force penalties, with Chloe Kelly, Beth England, Rachel Daly and Alex Greenwood finding the target to secure a 4-2 shootout win.
England will now face either Jamaica or Colombia in the quarter-finals on Saturday.
Speaking after the match, Kelly, who scored the winning penalty, said: "We dig deep and we believe in our abilities and first and foremost we believe in what we're being told to do."
Former England international Lee Hendrie said the match was "not a classic performance" from England, adding that Nigeria were "excellent all over the pitch".
He told Sky Sports News: "Brilliant penalties in the end from England and they are through to the quarter-finals. They have had to dig deep, it has not been a classic performance, you have to feel for Nigeria, who were excellent all over the pitch, they had a game plan and worked all over the pitch.
"Then it was all about England going down to 10 players and you feel can they just get through this period and have the belief to get through that, and they did."
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The Prince and Princess of Wales praised the team's "hard-fought" victory, while Downing Street said Prime Minister Rishi Sunak wished them the "best of luck" for the next round.
Earlier in the match England could have had a penalty after Rachel Daly went down under contact from a Nigeria defender in the first half. But after looking at VAR the referee overturned her decision.
England struggled to match Nigeria's physical gameplan at times and their task was made harder when James's moment of petulance was punished by the referee.
James will now miss the quarter-finals and could face a longer suspension.
But England held their nerve in the shootout and their dream of completing a European Championship and World Cup double remains alive.
