Very childish from Lauren James, really didn't need to do that & whilst the red is harsh it was always a likely decision as soon as the ref went to the monitor.
England have been below par & have struggled to deal with the tight one on one marking & general physicality from the Nigerians.
Definite red, silly really in this day and age but that's the problem with losing your compusure. It can happen to anyone at anytime and often has dire consequences.
I just hope the media have moved on since hounding Beckham for his Argentina incident. Mind you, as England went through, it will probably be brushed under the carpet.
Really tough game for England which they could easily have lost, showed their mental fortitude to come through that one. They were outmatched physically and had a ref who seemed happy to let contact happen. It wasn’t a pretty game plan but it did work and ultimately they were able to frustrate a player into doing something stupid as well. Happily for their sporadic periods of pressure, Nigeria failed to really work the keeper.
Looking forward I can’t see a similarly physical team left in the draw, other challenges await.
It wasn’t accidental - looked very deliberate. Only question is whether it’ll stay a single match suspension or be increased as it was, in my view, unprovoked violent conduct.
Looked very silly and very deliberate to me. Very sad, as the women's game seems to be fairly free of that sort of thing, especially from a player you expect much more from. On that team performance, James being missing for the next game might end England's run, but amazing that the ten managed the rest of the half and the extra time against a very dominant Nigerian team.
England only really clicked into gear once they were down to 10, probably because they reverted to 4-4-1, which the Nigerians wierdly found harder to deal with.
As they say good teams find a way to grind out a result when they play badly.
Whilst James is a loss, there are enough decent players to cover for her; they managed to cover for Walsh, who is much more important to the way England like to play, in the game against China - the only game so far where they have really turned it on.
FIFA rules for the World Cup state: “If players or team officials are sent off as a result of a direct or indirect red card, they will automatically be suspended from their team’s subsequent match.
"In addition, further sanctions may be imposed by the FIFA Disciplinary Committee.”
OK I found this on TalkSPORT.com so perhaps not 100% but probably reliable. They also said on commentary it could be extended.
To me it looked like an initial contact on the leg followed by a second go with a deliberate step onto the players midriff. I’ll be surprised if it’s not extended by 1 game.
You might need to be taken gently aside @carrickblue, for a quick anatomy lesson! I think you’ll find that Lauren James stepped (very purposefully) on both the Nigerian player’s bottom cheeks. Nowhere near her midriff, which was underneath.
Thanks, @Chris. No iffs but butts. Midriffs that is.
I knew I was on solid ground (like Alozie) because they replayed the cheek stamp in slow motion ad nauseum during the match.
Lauren James had been totally nullified by Nigeria, reduced to blasting high and wide (twice) from a few yards outside the penalty box. She was thoroughly frustrated. But no excuse for what she did of course.
Both teams seemed to cancel each other out over the 120 mins with very little between them, though I felt on balance France were the fractionally better side.
Now its onto the Engalnd v Colombia game, time for Wiegman & her team to show what they are really about & live up to the (media & fan) hype...I suspect it will be a close game but England should have enough about them to win.
Comments
Awful scenes at the England game as a D***y C****y flag appears in the stands.
Idiotic from Lauren James
Very childish from Lauren James, really didn't need to do that & whilst the red is harsh it was always a likely decision as soon as the ref went to the monitor.
England have been below par & have struggled to deal with the tight one on one marking & general physicality from the Nigerians.
Not harsh at all - it's violent conduct
She'll surely claim it was accidental, if there's any likelihood it wasn't it's a red.
4 superb penalties from England to get through after being second best for 120 minutes.
Definite red, silly really in this day and age but that's the problem with losing your compusure. It can happen to anyone at anytime and often has dire consequences.
I just hope the media have moved on since hounding Beckham for his Argentina incident. Mind you, as England went through, it will probably be brushed under the carpet.
Really tough game for England which they could easily have lost, showed their mental fortitude to come through that one. They were outmatched physically and had a ref who seemed happy to let contact happen. It wasn’t a pretty game plan but it did work and ultimately they were able to frustrate a player into doing something stupid as well. Happily for their sporadic periods of pressure, Nigeria failed to really work the keeper.
Looking forward I can’t see a similarly physical team left in the draw, other challenges await.
On another note, Chloe Kelly is my new hero; Mr Miagi would have been proud of that crane kick / penalty.
It wasn’t accidental - looked very deliberate. Only question is whether it’ll stay a single match suspension or be increased as it was, in my view, unprovoked violent conduct.
Looked very silly and very deliberate to me. Very sad, as the women's game seems to be fairly free of that sort of thing, especially from a player you expect much more from. On that team performance, James being missing for the next game might end England's run, but amazing that the ten managed the rest of the half and the extra time against a very dominant Nigerian team.
Good pens.
I don't think a ban can be increased in a tournament except in extreme circumstances
England only really clicked into gear once they were down to 10, probably because they reverted to 4-4-1, which the Nigerians wierdly found harder to deal with.
As they say good teams find a way to grind out a result when they play badly.
Whilst James is a loss, there are enough decent players to cover for her; they managed to cover for Walsh, who is much more important to the way England like to play, in the game against China - the only game so far where they have really turned it on.
FIFA rules for the World Cup state: “If players or team officials are sent off as a result of a direct or indirect red card, they will automatically be suspended from their team’s subsequent match.
"In addition, further sanctions may be imposed by the FIFA Disciplinary Committee.”
OK I found this on TalkSPORT.com so perhaps not 100% but probably reliable. They also said on commentary it could be extended.
To me it looked like an initial contact on the leg followed by a second go with a deliberate step onto the players midriff. I’ll be surprised if it’s not extended by 1 game.
Right you are - she's been banned for 2 games
Fairly predictable outcome
I do think Ella Toone is a capable replacement, if that is who Wiegman goes with, though she might ring the changes with a different formation
And deserves it. Hopefully she has learnt a lesson.
She's only 21 and has plenty of time to come back from this, much like Beckham and Rooney did after their moments of World Cup madness.
You might need to be taken gently aside @carrickblue, for a quick anatomy lesson! I think you’ll find that Lauren James stepped (very purposefully) on both the Nigerian player’s bottom cheeks. Nowhere near her midriff, which was underneath.
@micra looks like midriff rather than arse to me as well. But then I thought midriff went all the way round. Shall we say lower back?
@micra's anatomy knowledge clearly doesn't match his meteorological ability
https://images.app.goo.gl/abnmMH1yFUB4kP7f8
Definitely bum. Not small of back or midriff (which is defined as the region in the front of the body between the chest and the waist.
“ Her top rode up to display her midriff.”
Clearly you’re wrong on this occasion, both in respect of anatomy and meteorology.
She’d be available for the Final.
We will have to agree to disagree on this occasion.
That's not her bum, it's her waist
Seems like Alozie agrees with @micra https://www.vanguardngr.com/2023/08/my-butt-is-fine-nigerias-michelle-alozie-confirms-after-lauren-james-challenge/amp/
I shall send my biology O Level back...
Thanks, @Chris. No iffs but butts. Midriffs that is.
I knew I was on solid ground (like Alozie) because they replayed the cheek stamp in slow motion ad nauseum during the match.
Lauren James had been totally nullified by Nigeria, reduced to blasting high and wide (twice) from a few yards outside the penalty box. She was thoroughly frustrated. But no excuse for what she did of course.
Correction. It wasn’t a stamp at all. It was a very deliberate tread upon though.
Australia squeeze past France 7-6 on pens
Both teams seemed to cancel each other out over the 120 mins with very little between them, though I felt on balance France were the fractionally better side.
Now its onto the Engalnd v Colombia game, time for Wiegman & her team to show what they are really about & live up to the (media & fan) hype...I suspect it will be a close game but England should have enough about them to win.