World Cup NOW: Is this the turning point for England?

England ended Nigeria‘s 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup run in dramatic fashion, winning in a penalty shootout.

The scoreless match saw plenty of action, including an ejection of England star Lauren James after she stepped on the back of Nigeria’s Michelle Alozie late in the match.

England vs. Nigeria Highlights | 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup | Round of 16

England and Nigeria played in the Round of 16 as both teams look to continue its 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup campaign.

The “World Cup NOW” crew – Jimmy Conrad, Leslie Osborne, Freya Coombe and Karina LeBlanc – discussed the “well-coached” victory over the Super Falcons, and debated whether this would be a pivotal moment for England as it moves forward.

Conrad: “I feel like any time – if we look back on any World Cup champion – there was always one game that maybe you got a little lucky. But, then that helped propel you, like we’re not going to allow that to happen again, and you go on to win the tournament … This is the one that feels like it for me. If England’s going to go on and do it, they’re going to feel like they got lucky in this game.”

Osborne: “I don’t know if hanging in there for that long, down a man … is that luck though? That’s a well-coached game. That’s a well-prepared game. I don’t know if there’s much luck about this. I think it was a stupid mistake from Lauren James that put them there. You win the game, down a man, I think that that’s an incredible performance.”

Coombe: “I think Nigeria’s done absolutely brilliantly tonight, and I think credit to them. I’ve been so nervous watching the end of that game because I thought they could win it at any point. That was well-coached and well-planned by England. They were able to defend, had clear structure, clear units that worked hard. And, they knew what they were trying to do at the end … That was excellent defending. They made it really difficult for Nigeria to break them down, and defense is the sign of a great team that can go on and win a tournament.”

LeBlanc: “We talked about how great Sarina Wiegman is as a coach. At no point when they were down, even in between, it was just like she was in control of the situation. They’ve already rehearsed when we’re a man down, this is what we’re going to do. So, it just looked like a well-oiled-machine that was planned, and I think throughout the tournament we’ve sometimes seen some coaches be like, “hmm” … you know like almost reacting. I don’t think at any point we saw them [England] reacting. It was like, OK, this is what they’ve already talked about it in their meetings prior to even coming into this World Cup … They look so connected. This could be the turning point for them, because they have hurt and they have suffered a bit. But, this really is class coaching and then players just stepping up.”

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