The reigning European champions England defeated the 9-time African champions Nigeria 4-2 on penalties as they went head-to-head in a thrilling round of 16 battle on Monday at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, Australia.
Both sides last met over 20 years ago and England grabbed the win on that occasion.
With big teams exiting the ongoing 2023 edition of the FIFA Women’s World Cup, the Super Falcons were the underdogs as England were definitely the favourites.
In win probability according to the FIFA website 6 minutes into the game, England had 77% Nigeria had 8% live win probability.
The Falcons were strong defensively in the competition, conceding only twice so far.
The first corner went to the Lionesses in the 5th minute of the encounter, and Nigeria’s first shot in the game came from Ajibade.
Nigeria had a counter-attacking chance with Kanu Uchenna. The Falcons got their first shot on target, with good strings of play from Plumptre striking the bar vigorously.
A defensive error in clearance by Osinachi proved costly as England got a shot on goal but goalkeeper Chiamaka came to Nigeria’s rescue.
Nigeria seemed to have conceded a penalty in the 32nd minute, and with the central referee checking the replay on VAR, the final verdict was no penalty.
The Falcons did a good job keeping Lauren James off the ball before the referee blew the whistle signaling for the end of the energetic first half.
It was a really good first half from the Nigerian perspective as the Lionesses were held to a first-half draw for the first time in over a year.
The second half started with Nigeria on the ball, applying pressure, and seeing a header from Kanu Uchenna hit the crossbar.
The beautiful thing about the game was the mentality Nigeria displayed as they were fearless to go forward and attack.
The Super Falcons had the first corner of the second half, and England had a foothold on the game as Asisat Oshoala was introduced to the game and expected to bring attacking dynamism to the game for Nigeria.
Another wonderful double saves by Chiamaka who was definitely a stand-out player in the game. The Falcons tried to utilize the wide areas trying to create heading chances for Oshoala.
A nasty tackle from Laruen James saw her get a yellow card, but a review by VAR revealed that she intentionally stepped on Alozie, so in the 86th minute, the yellow card was lifted and Laruen James was sent off, bringing England down to 10 women.
After playing 6 minutes of additional time, the game went to extra time.
Nigeria continued to run at the English defence with intensity, but the Lionesses still kept the English team alive, and after the first half of the extra time, the game remained goalless.
The second half of the extra time resumed as Nigeria went looking to take advantage of the one player down and get a goal to avoid penalties.
England managed the tempo of the game. Oparanozie was introduced into the game as Payne gave way with the hope that she would be able to bring a new bite to the attack.
Undeterred by the press from the African side, England was able to sustain their shape and pushed the game into the penalty shootout.
England lost the first kick through Kloe but Desire Oparanozie failed to capitalise on it as she lost her kick too.
England scored their second kick while Alozie missed Nigeria’s second kick to put England in an advantage.
Ajibade and Christy Ucheibe beautifully scored their kicks but England was able to convert their kicks and won the game 4-2.
