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Chloe Kelly added another memorable moment to her Lionesses career as her spot-kick secured 10-woman England a place in the World Cup quarter-finals after a dramatic shoot-out with Nigeria in Brisbane. It was not all elation for England, however, after Lauren James was shown a straight red card for a stamp on Michelle Alozie following a VAR review late in the second half which could see her banned for the remainder of this tournament. Midfielder Keira Walsh returned for the first time since she was carried off the pitch on a stretcher in England’s 1-0 group-stage victory against Denmark and played 120 minutes of a dramatic contest. England were far from their best and were lucky not to exit the tournament in 90 minutes, but dug deep to ensure the match finished goalless after extra time, with Euro 2022 hero Kelly firing in the decisive penalty. The European champions largely remained camped inside Nigeria’s half for the first 10 minutes, before the Super Falcons began to build momentum. Georgia Stanway’s stumble led to their first real chance as Uchenna Kanu directed a header at the England goal but was blocked at the last by Millie Bright’s clearance. Randy Waldrum’s side threatened again as former England youth international Ashleigh Plumptre came within inches of an opener when her attempt clipped the underside of the crossbar and it took a brilliant save by Earps to stop the ex-Leicester defender soon after. The Lionesses were then initially awarded a penalty when Rasheedat Ajibade initially appeared to shove Daly inside the area, Stanway convinced enough she started stepping up to the spot, but the decision was reversed after Honduran referee Melissa Borjas was sent to check the pitchside monitor. James, largely subdued after her two-goal, three-assist performance against China, then saw an effort sail over. It was the Super Falcons who attacked first in the second half, Kanu’s nodded effort catching the woodwork, while England struggled to find the same fluidity they displayed in their 6-1 rout of China – a side ranked 26 places above Nigeria. Waldman brought on his most fearsome weapon in Bronze and Walsh’s Barcelona team-mate Asisat Oshoala, the five-time African women’s footballer of the year with whom they lifted the Champions League trophy in June. Stanway was next to try to get a misfiring England going with a delivery from the right to find Daly, who volleyed wide. England were lucky when Kanu spun a header past the right post as they searched for a solution to Nigeria’s relentless physicality before a fine stop from Chiamaka Nnadozie firstly prevented Daly nodding in from six yards and then Russo from the left. It was the Nigerian fans whose voices echoed loudest as they earned another free kick and continued to pile the pressure on England. Things went from bad to worse for Wiegman’s side when another call to the monitor ruled James had deliberately stamped on the back of Nigeria defender Alozie and she was sent off with three minutes of normal time remaining. “Eye of the Tiger” blasted over the speakers as the Lionesses willed themselves to fight through extra time a player light and again breathed a sigh of relief when Alozie should have given Nigeria the lead but missed a big chance at the near post. England doggedly defended their way through as Wiegman made just her second substitution, swapping Lauren Hemp for Bethany England at the 106-minute mark after replacing Russo with Kelly after 88 minutes. Earps kept the Lionesses in it when she calmly caught Oshoala’s effort from inside the penalty area as Walsh’s comeback finally came to a close and the Lionesses calmly closed out extra time to ensure their World Cup destiny would be decided by spot kicks. Stanway, whose penalty was the only goal in England’s 1-0 opening victory against Haiti, stepped up first but this time fired wide of the left post, reprieved when Desire Oparanozie sent hers to the exact same spot. Beth England, who did not play a single minute of England’s Euro 2022 triumph last summer, pumped her fist in the air when she fired past Nnadozie and Alozie skied her effort as the Lionesses turned to Rachel Daly. The Women’s Super League Golden Boot winner gave the Nigerian keeper no chance with a perfectly-placed penalty to the top corner before Ajibade beat Earps. Greenwood and Christy Ucheibe both converted and so it was up to Kelly, who, with another significant contribution on the global stage, fired England through. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Dejan Kulusevski vows to ‘do everything’ to keep Harry Kane at Tottenham Raphael Varane says players’ opinions ignored over ‘damaging’ new guidelines Mohamed Salah ‘remains committed’ to Liverpool amid Saudi Arabia links

Dejan Kulusevski has vowed to do “everything” in his power to help convince Harry Kane to stay at Tottenham. Kane ignored the noise around his future to score four times in Spurs’ 5-1 friendly victory over Shakhtar Donetsk on Sunday. The England captain remains the subject of intense interest from Bayern Munich, who are reported to have lodged their latest offer for the forward on Friday, although no outcome of the bid has been announced. New Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou hailed Kane’s professionalism after his four-goal salvo and his team-mate echoed those sentiments. “He scored four goals, so very good,” Kulusevski exclaimed. “Nah, he’s unbelievable. Honestly, his mentality, I can learn from him like everybody. He just goes out and performs day in day out. “He’s a true professional. I’m happy I helped him score today but of course we want him to stay and we’ll do everything to make him stay.” Asked whether it would be beneficial to have Kane’s future sorted sooner rather than later, Kulusevski admitted: “I think it would. On the other hand, you can only control what you can control. We players cannot do anything about it. “We work our hardest, try to stay ready and the players that manage it, it’s up to them.” The uncertainty over Kane does not appear to be going away but Tottenham are close to the signings of Micky Van De Ven and Argentinian youngster Alejo Veliz, the PA news agency understands. Both Wolfsburg centre-back Van De Ven and Rosario Central forward Veliz are booked in to have medicals on Monday and – if their transfers are finalised in time – they could be set to make the trip to Barcelona for Tuesday’s final pre-season match of the summer. It will be the last chance for Postecoglou to get his squad attuned to his front-foot, progressive style of football before their Premier League opener away to Brentford on Sunday. Kulusevski, after being accustomed to a pragmatic and counter-attacking approach under Antonio Conte previously, is relishing the attacking brand brought in by the Australian. “It is fun actually. I love it,” he said. “You have to be physically very good, I love that too. I’m enjoying having a lot of ball higher on the pitch, so I’m very grateful to have him (Postecoglou). “I like him a lot. Also in half-time he was very angry because we stopped playing for five minutes and you cannot be like that. “You have to play always. Just because you’re tired, you (can’t) let them have the ball. Things happen like that. So I like him a lot and I’m looking forward to improving under him.” Kane broke the deadlock from the penalty spot after 38 minutes of Sunday’s friendly with Shakhtar, but the visitors levelled before the break through Kevin Kelsy. Postecoglou’s half-time hairdryer worked a treat though, with Kane heading home James Maddison’s cross soon after before Kulusevski’s through ball saw the forward clinch his hat-trick in 55 minutes. There was still time for Manor Solomon’s saved effort to be tapped home by Kane for his fourth and his replacement Dane Scarlett grabbed a fifth with the last kick of the match. Kulusevski did concede there will be an adjustment period for Tottenham under Postecoglou. It is fun actually. I love it. You have to be physically very good, I love that too. I'm enjoying having a lot of ball higher on the pitch, so I'm very grateful to have him. Dejan Kulusevski on playing under Ange Postecoglou He said: “Everything takes time in life, but the thing is we really, really have to believe in it. It’s not enough if he’s trying to make us believe. We all have to do it. “But we’re in a good way, I think. This was the first game when we played 90 minutes. We’re happy, we ran a lot. It was quite good. “Last season, maybe we scored one and then we tried to protect the result. So, of course we have to improve but second half was very, very good. “He (Postecoglou) said we always have to play. Don’t shoot away the ball, don’t stop pressing, don’t waste time. Always play, play the same and don’t think about the score or the time. Just play and have fun. “We all want to score much more. When we go 1-0, we want to score the second, not back off. So, we all we want to score much more.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Raphael Varane says players’ opinions ignored over ‘damaging’ new guidelines Mohamed Salah ‘remains committed’ to Liverpool amid Saudi Arabia links Pat Cummins set to be fit for World Cup despite fractured left wrist

England won despite a red card that ejected star Lauren James to beat Nigeria on penalty kicks and advance to the quarterfinals at the Women’s World Cup

England are through to the quarter-finals of the Women’s World Cup – but they will be without Lauren James when they play either Colombia or Jamaica in the last eight. James was sent off for stamping on the back of Nigeria player Michelle Alozie during the Lionesses’ last-16 tie. The 21-year-old, who has been England’s player of the tournament, was initially shown a yellow card by the referee, but VAR recommended a review and the yellow card was upgraded to red after the act of petulance. After receiving a red card, James is automatically suspended for England’s next match, however her punishment will be reviewed by a Fifa disciplinary panel. If the forward is deemed to have committed a serious act of foul play, the panel have the power to apply further sanctions. A three-match ban would see James ruled out for the rest of the tournament. Two of the World Cup’s surprise packages, Colombia and Jamaica, meet in the last 16 on Tuesday, with the winner awaiting the Lionesses in the quarter-finals. That task will be harder for England without their creative heartbeat in James but if they can come through, then a potential semi-final against Australia, Denmark, France or Morocco would be the next task. The Women’s World Cup final will be played on Sunday August 20, with Japan appearing to be the strongest team in the top half of the draw currently. Read More Lauren James sent off for stamping on opponent during England’s World Cup clash Who and when do England play next? Lionesses route to the World Cup final Lauren James: England’s new superstar taking World Cup by storm

England stars rushed to console Nigeria goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie after a tense penalty shootout win in the last-16 of the Women’s World Cup. Chloe Kelly smashed the decisive spot-kick past Nnadozie as the Lionesses won the shootout 4-2 following a goalless 120 minutes at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane. England played the entirety of extra time with 10 players after Lauren James was sent off for a stamp on the back of Nigeria’s Michelle Alozie. Georgia Stanway then missed the first penalty of the shootout, but with Nigeria also missing their first two spot-kicks, it was Kelly who stepped up to be the hero once again.

England have reached the Women’s World Cup quarter-finals by beating Nigeria 4-2 on penalties.

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Australia will look to advance to the quarter-finals of the Women’s World Cup as they host Denmark at a sold-out Olympic Stadium in Sydney. The World Cup co-hosts survived a “do or die” clash with Canada to progress to the knockout stages in style, thrashing the Olympic champions 4-0 to finish top of Group B. The Matildas could be boosted by the return of star striker and captain Sam Kerr, who missed all three group games due to injury but could be back for the knockout stages. Denmark are led by Kerr’s former Chelsea team-mate Pernille Harder and reached the last-16 after finishing runner-up to England in Group B. The early exits of Germany, the USA and Brazil have opened up the World Cup and now Australia and Denmark have an opportunity to make a claim. Follow live updates from Australia vs Denmark in the Women’s World Cup last-16, below. Read More Women’s World Cup TV schedule: How to watch every match today Women’s World Cup golden boot: Who’s leading the top-scorer standings? Women’s football world rankings: Who could take No 1 at the World Cup?

Football fans have been reacting in their droves after England’s Lauren James was sent off in the Women’s World Cup game against Nigeria. The midfielder has been one of the standout players for the Lionesses so far, but she received a red card for cynically lashing out in their Round of 16 game. James was sent off after intentionally stepping on Michelle Alozie late on during the game with the score at 0-0. While she was initially given a yellow card, it was upgraded to a red after a VAR review. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter It meant that England went into extra time a player down, with Nigeria looking to make inroads playing against 10. Some criticised the “poor spirit” of the incident on social media. “Lauren James has let her country big time, deserves a red card, a big learning curve for her but that was disgraceful!” one wrote. Others compared it to David Beckham’s red card against Argentina at the 1998 World Cup Another said: “The frustration of Lauren James and the red card she got as a result is a testament to how good Nigeria has been tonight. Superb performance.” Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Manchester United defender Raphael Varane has hit out at the “damaging” new guidelines on added time and conduct for this season’s Premier League and asked why players’ opinions are not being heard. Competitions around the world have been instructed to more accurately calculate time lost to stoppages this season, including goal celebrations and VAR checks. Arsenal equalised in the 11th of 13 added minutes at the end of Sunday’s Community Shield against Manchester City and went on to win on penalties. The game’s lawmakers, the International Football Association Board, said in March that the approach to calculating added time was “positively received” when it was first tested at the men’s World Cup in Qatar last year and would be rolled out worldwide. However, Varane says the changes have been brought in “despite our previous feedback” and are placing too much pressure on players. He tweeted on Monday morning: “We had a meeting last week with the FA. They recommended from the referees new decisions and rules. “From the managers and players, we have shared our concerns for many years now that there are too many games, the schedule is overcrowded, and it’s at a dangerous level for players’ physical and mental well-being. “Despite our previous feedbacks, they have now recommended for next season: longer games, more intensity, and less emotions to be shown by players. We just want to be in good condition on the pitch to give 100 per cent to our club and fans. Why are our opinions not being heard?” Varane retired from international football at the age of 29 earlier this year, likening the slog of the top-level game to being in a washing machine. The new guidelines on added time have been introduced to tackle timewasting and increase effective playing time. FIFA found 10 minutes and 11 seconds of added time were played on average in Qatar, an increase on the average for the previous World Cup finals in Russia, but also found effective playing time was up in Qatar by more than four minutes compared to Russia. However, the impact of the extra added time on players over a sustained period has already been highlighted by their global union FIFPRO, which reported earlier this year that the changes would amount to the equivalent of up to three extra games per season for players with the highest existing workloads. “As a player I feel very privileged to do the job I love every day but I feel these changes are damaging our game,” Varane added. “We want to be at our maximum level, the best we can be and put on amazing performances for fans to celebrate every week. “I believe it is important that we, players and managers, highlight these important issues as we want to protect the game we love and give the fans our best.” Varane’s remark about “less emotions to be shown by players” appeared to be a reference to a new code of conduct designed to improve the behaviour of players, coaches and fans at all levels of the English game announced last week. It has been launched with the support of all of the football authorities, with the Professional Footballers’ Association understood to have helped shape the new guidance. Referees will be expected to take a more consistent and tough line when players surround them to challenge decisions. Officials should issue at least a yellow card where two or more players confront them. Players and coaches who seriously or repeatedly abuse referees could face increased financial penalties from the Football Association, while a tougher line is set to be taken against fans involved in football tragedy abuse. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Mohamed Salah ‘remains committed’ to Liverpool amid Saudi Arabia links Pat Cummins set to be fit for World Cup despite fractured left wrist Henry Slade omitted from England World Cup squad