England Women manager Sarina Wiegman says Lauren James ‘lost her emotions’ to earn red card against Nigeria | Football News

Sarina Wiegman says Lauren James apologised after the forward “lost her emotions” to earn a red card against Nigeria as England squeezed through to the World Cup quarter-finals.

James’ reckless challenge on Michelle Alozie, in which she stamped on the Nigerian’s back as the two tried to get up from a tussle, saw her receive a straight red card.

It was upgraded from a yellow after a VAR review, with James now set to miss the quarter-final against Colombia or Jamaica. Her ban could yet stretch further depending on England’s progression and whether FIFA decides to increase the punishment.

The dismissal had echoes of David Beckham’s and Wayne Rooney’s red cards from the 1998 and 2006 World Cups respectively – England’s standout young star and player of the tournament so far stopped in their tracks by a moment of madness.

But England boss Wiegman says despite emotions getting the better of the 21-year-old, James never intended for the incident to happen.

“It was a moment of a split-second and it was later in the game so players also get a little tired. She is an inexperienced player on this stage and has done really well,” she said.

“And I think, in a split-second, she just lost her emotions. And, of course, she does not want to hurt anyone. She is the sweetest person I know.

“Yet then things happen like that and you cannot change it any more. So it is a huge lesson for her to learn, but it is not something that she really did on purpose.

“It happens sometimes with human beings – that you are in such an intense game, such an emotional game and, in a split-second, she lost her emotions.

“She apologised and she felt really, really bad and absolutely she does not want to hurt anyone.”

While James’ sending off was petulant at best, it would not have been the turning point if England had been knocked out. They toiled through the goalless last-16 fixture in Brisbane, and were lucky to reach a penalty shootout, ultimately won by Chloe Kelly’s deciding kick.

But Wiegman was still pleased with how England reacted after James’ sending off, adding: “I am really proud of the team. We have had many setbacks. I think this was a big one too.

“So, as soon as it looked like Lauren James was sent off, we straight away had to re-organise and do something else on the pitch.

“Then the conviction to keep [the score] to 0-0 and to try to get out of their press, that was just incredible. The players got really, really tired, but we really stuck together and showed a lot of resilience.

“When you are so tired and then go into a penalty shootout and do so well, I think that is really incredible how the team did.”

Waldrum: We have given teams blueprint on how to stop England

Nigeria registered 20 shots to England’s 12, and kept their key players such as James incredibly quiet during the game in Brisbane.

Despite an impressive performance, the Super Falcons were unable to capitalise in a heartbreaking exit, but manager Randy Waldrum believes Nigeria have offered a plan on how to stifle England’s talent.

He said: “I think we gave some teams in this tournament a blueprint of how to approach [stopping England]. We saw that China gave the back three too much time, then when you add that to James finding the space, it was a recipe for disaster for them.

“We knew we had to take James away and put some pressure on the back three. I thought it was really effective. They got frustrated and played more long balls. I thought they had difficulties breaking us down.

“They had moments getting the possession going but we pressed them more and got a little physical with them. I’m sure other teams will watch and think, ‘this gives us an idea of the way we need to play them’.”

Analysis: James unable to make system work for her

Sky Sports’ Maryam Clark:

“Only 20 touches in the first half from a player who stunned Denmark and was mercurial against China seems criminal.

“But consider it another reason why England had such a tough time; Nigeria planned for it to unravel exactly how it did.

“The midfield areas were hauntingly quiet, with all the action concentrated around the flanks. Halimatu Ayinde made sure of that by shadowing James’ every move.

“As the minutes ticked by, the Chelsea forward became increasingly frustrated, starved of possession, and isolated from the action.

“There have been slight concerns from Chelsea fans in domestic conversations that James sometimes struggles in big moments when things aren’t handed to her on a plate in the No 10 role. Her performance in the Champions League semi-final against Barcelona is a fitting example.

“What follows is a build-up of irritation and then an eruption of emotion – which is precisely what happened under the lights in Brisbane.

“In a moment of madness that echoed the infamous ‘David Beckham incident’ against Argentina at the men’s World Cup in 1998, James used Michelle Alozie as a springboard while dusting herself off from an aggressive challenge.

“A lengthly VAR stoppage followed to review the initial yellow card, and then, just like that, England were down to 10 as they fell extremely short of the standards they had set for themselves.

“For James, it’s a steep learning curve. The system did not work for her today, and she was unable to make it work for her. Should Wiegman have changed things earlier? Would this have changed James’ fate? We can only speculate.”