Kelly netted the winning penalty in the shootout after James had seen red late on for stamping on a Nigerian opponent in Monday's last-16 clash
England survived a huge scare to make it into the quarter-finals of the Women's World Cup on Monday, beating Nigeria on penalties after being reduced to 10 players during the goalless 120 minutes because of Lauren James' moment of madness. The Chelsea star saw red after stepping on Michelle Alozie in the 87th minute, but Chloe Kelly's winning spot-kick saw the Lionesses through to the last eight.
Nigeria were excellent on the night and looked the most likely to score throughout the match, Ashleigh Plumptre smashing the crossbar in the first half and forcing a strong save out of Mary Earps moments later.
England had chances, too, with Alessia Russo having a huge opportunity after a defensive error but produced the best from Chiamaka Nnadozie with her effort. The Nigeria goalkeeper also twice denied Rachel Daly, who appeared to have won a penalty until it was belatedly overturned by VAR.
There were not so many opportunities as the match went on, England struggling after being reduced to 10 by James' sending off. Instead, it would be decided on penalties, Kelly the hero when she converted to win it 4-2.
GOAL breaks down the winners & losers from Lang Park in Brisbane…
Goal / SocialLOSER: Lauren James
What can you say? After being the absolute star of this tournament in the group stages, James had a David Beckham-esque moment of madness in Brisbane on Monday, deliberately stepping on Nigeria defender Michelle Alozie and subsequently being sent off.
It was a frustrating night for the Chelsea star, who was marked out of the game by the Super Falcons' clever plan and was completely unable to get involved. But no excuse can be made for what she did late on in this game. It was completely stupid. Still only 21 years old, she'll learn from this, for sure.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesWINNER: Chloe Kelly
Kelly must be getting used to the feeling of being the hero by now. It was her extra-time goal that won England the European Championship last summer, her winning spot-kick that sealed victory in the Women's Finalissima in April, and she repeated that feat on Monday to send her country into the last eight of the Women's World Cup.
The winger showed absolute nerves of steel to smash home from 12 yards on this occasion, and it'll no doubt give her a ton of confidence moving forwards after a quiet tournament thus far.
Getty ImagesLOSER: Nigeria
Nigeria boss Randy Waldrum couldn't emphasise how proud he was of his players after the match – but he and the whole team must be devastated. The Super Falcons were the better team all night and they had the chances to win it, while restricting England to very few of their own at the other end.
But they just could not get over the line. There's no doubt that they've done their nation proud and that they've been excellent this tournament, but they must be gutted that they couldn't get over the line.
Getty ImagesLOSER: Sarina Wiegman
So often praised for her management throughout her two years in charge, Sarina Wiegman's in-game changes were so poor on Monday. Nigeria settled well and were the better team for almost the entirety of the game, and yet the coach waited until the final moments of the 90 minutes to make any substitutions – and when she was about to, James' red card meant they had to be altered and were always going struggle to make an impact with England down to 10.
It wasn't just about changes in personnel, either. Nigeria's press was clever and the way they marked the likes of James and Keira Walsh out of the game wasn't combatted by Wiegman at all.
This was so close to being an embarrassing exit – so, so close. Things will need to improve for the quarter-finals. Massively.