England boss Sarina Wiegman defended Chelsea star Reece James (Pictures: Getty)
England manager Sarina Wiegman says the reckless stamp that has ended Lauren James’ World Cup campaign was borne out of tiredness rather than malice.
James was sent off for violent conduct during England’s narrow last-16 victory over Nigeria after stamping on Michelle Alozie.
The moment of madness meant England were reduced to ten players for the entirety of extra-time, but the Lionesses kept Nigeria at bay before winning 4-2 on penalties.
The unnecessary and unsavory stamp also means James has played her last game of the World Cup as dismissals for violent conduct come with a three-match suspension.
FIFA rules state: ‘A player will be suspended for at least three matches for violent conduct; at least three matches or an appropriate period of time for assault, including elbowing, punching, kicking, biting, spitting or hitting an opponent or a person other than a match official.’
While James’ dismissal could have repercussions as England look to add the World Cup trophy to their European Championship crown, Wiegman has defended the Chelsea forward and says it was a ‘very unfortunate’ incident.
‘She’s young and this is just a split second, she doesn’t want to harm anyone,’ Wiegman said. ‘It’s later on in the game, so you get a little bit tired too.
‘It’s such an intense and emotional game that in a split second where you just don’t control your emotions, then things happen.
‘Of course, she didn’t want to do that, but before she’d even realised it had happened. Very unfortunate. She will absolutely learn from it.’
England and Manchester City star Alex Greenwood, meanwhile, said the Lionesses would rally around James after her ‘unfortunate mistake’ against Nigeria.
‘She’s only young so I will definitely get an arm around her because it’s an important time to do that,’ she said.
‘Unfortunately, in life, and in football, you make mistakes and this is one of those moments, and she’ll get a hug from me.’
England face either Colombia or Jamaica in the quarter-finals of the World Cup and will need to improve following an underwhelming last-16 performance.
Nigeria were the better side in Brisbane but England held their nerve in a tense penalty shootout, with Chloe Kelly scoring the decisive spot-kick.
Kelly said: ‘It’s amazing, we dig deep as a group and believe in our ability. We believe in what we’re told to do. We’ve been practicing a lot and it’s working.
‘This team is special. We did it in the Euros, we did it in the Finalissima, we keep pushing forward and there’s more to come from this team.’
On England’s victory as a whole, Wiegman added: ‘We didn’t expect it to be easy. I give a lot of credit to Nigeria. I don’t think I have ever been in such an intense game.
‘It was very intense and competitive.’
Looking ahead to Saturday’s quarter-final, the Lionesses boss said: ‘Women’s football has changed forever and we don’t expect any game to be easy. We have a couple of days to rest and figure out how we are going to approach it.’
MORE : England players console distraught Nigeria goalkeeper after penalty shootout
MORE : Alex Scott reveals big ‘worry’ about England from performance against Nigeria
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The Chelsea forward was sent off for violent conduct.
