2023-08-07 11:43:14
The selection of England got his ticket for the quarterfinals of the Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand by coming out victorious in the penalty shootout against Nigeria by 4-2after finishing the game with a goalless tie and one less player on the field of play.
Because although the current European champions They advance to the next round, they do so after a clash that they did not dominate, in which the Africans dismasted, especially in the first part, the strategy of Sarina Wiegman-Glotzbach, and that deprives them for the next match of the competition when receiving a direct red to one of his key footballers, Lauren James.
England sought to dominate the ball from the start, as in the matches already played in this World Cup, and although they maintained possession to a large extent, they failed to create danger and break lines between the green defense.
Quite the opposite of the Nigerians, who after each recovery of the ball automatically looked for the backs of the English wing players with Ifeoma Onumonu and Rasheedat Ajibade, or with the overflows of Michelle Alozie and Ashleigh Plumptre.
The African footballers enjoyed several chances in the first quarter of an hour, the first being a header from Hello what did he get Alexia Russo a few meters from the goal.
But it was Plumptre which, twice, was about to open the scoring, first with a shot from the edge of the area that shook the crossbar, and in an almost consecutive action with a shot that Mary Earps had to clear at the short post.
This strategy of the “Super Falcons” prevented Lucy Bronze and Rachel Daly from joining the attack further, and forced James to go down on many occasions to the height of his defense to be able to receive the ball, already very far from some attackers disconnected from the field. rest of the team.
Even so, the “Lionesses” also had their clear opportunity to score the first goal of the match when Blessing Demehin he missed his attempt to hit the ball on a punt, leaving Russo sola ante Chiamaka Nandozi.
The England striker’s shot went straight into the goalkeeper’s hands, as did a subsequent volley from Daly off an Alex Greenwood corner.
Although the real action that could have changed the future of the first part was a penalty kicked in favor of the current European champions, after a VAR review, and that the Honduran referee Melissa Borjas decided to annul after viewing the images of the play in the minute 34.
Back from the locker room, the coaches decided to keep the pieces on the board as the first 45 minutes ended, and it didn’t take long for Randy Waldrum’s players to cause the first scare in the English.
The first offensive action of the Nigerians ended with a header from Uchena Kanu who revisited the crossbar defended by Earps, an occasion that led to an awakening of the “Lionesses”, with the appearance of James in more areas close to the area, as well as more or less dangerous actions and shots by Russo and Daly.
The entry of Asisat Oshoala in the 58th minute sought to reactivate the Nigerian impudence in attack, but it did nothing but provoke a situation of stalemate where, although offensive situations were caused in both funds, none of them presented a danger that made one think that the ball would visit the nets of the archers.
Something that could change at any moment, as many imagined Daly almost did in the 76th minute, when his header went straight into the goal if it weren’t for a quick intervention of reflexes from Nnadozie.
By the time the “Super Falcons” made their second substitution, for none of Sarina Wiegman-Glotzbach, the clash turned into a chaotic and at the same time open round trip.
This took one out of the party Lauren Jamesstellar against China, but unconscious this Monday by leaving her teammates with one less with the extension on the horizon by stepping on Alozie the Nigerian being on the ground without the ball in between.
A numerical superiority that in the early stages of extra time did not materialize in a clear dominance of the Africans, despite having opportunities like the one that left Alozie alone against an English goalkeeper who could only see how the shot went long.
The last fifteen of the clash were a constant Nigerian ‘I want and I can’t’, sometimes with amplitude, others with direct play, but always against an English wall, more or less firm, aware that the eleven meters were the lesser evil.
Some penalties, lost by Nigeria after missing their first two attempts, in which they did not appear Keira Walshreplaced on the verge of the shootout after going unnoticed throughout the 120 minutes she was on the pitch, something worrying for one of the supposed anchors of her team, and more so given the loss of James in the quarterfinals. final.
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