Reds duo feature as England progress
Two Manchester United players were involved as England reached the Women's World Cup quarter-finals after beating Nigeria on penalties.
A dramatic last-16 tie at the Brisbane Stadium in Australia went the distance and the Lionesses had to ride their luck after former United forward Lauren James was sent off in the 87th minute for a stamp on Michelle Aloize following a VAR review.
Mary Earps kept a clean sheet in 120 minutes and was named the official Player of the Match, producing smart saves to deny Ashleigh Plumptre at her near post in the first half and later keeping out Uchenna Kanu, as England had to dig deep against their impressive opponents from Africa.
The United goalkeeper's crossbar was also struck twice in the game, through a thunderous strike from Plumptre and a header from Kanu.
In the penalty shootout, she wasn’t required to make a save when Desire Oparanozie and Alozie both failed to hit the target, before Rasheedat Ajibade and Christy Ucheiebe both found the net for Nigeria.
But after a miss from Georgia Stanway, successful conversions from Beth England, Rachel Daly, ex-United defender Alex Greenwood and finally Chloe Kelly secured England’s passage to the last eight.
Despite impressing in her first England start in the 6-1 win over China last time out, Katie Zelem dropped to the bench as boss Sarina Wiegman opted for Keira Walsh after her recovery from a knee injury in the only change to the XI.
United Women captain Zelem - a reliable penalty taker for the Reds - eventually replaced Walsh in the closing moments of extra time but wasn't required to take a spot-kick.
Meanwhile, her United team-mate Ella Toone, who had been involved in all three group-stage matches, was an unused substitute.
Speaking to ITV Sport after the game, Earps admitted England were far from their best but managed to do what was required to get through.
“[I have a] happy heart now. Obviously I’m just happy that we got the job done in the end and on to the next," the keeper said. "I think all the wins are significant, it’s just trying to get as far in the competition as we possibly can.
"I thought Nigeria played really, really well and we weren’t at our best, then obviously we went down to 10 [players] and it was a really tough game for us. But I’m just buzzing that we got the job done.”
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When asked if she was ready for penalties, Mary added: “Yeah, I think when you’re in that position, it’s a free shot from 12 yards. I’m not putting pressure on myself, I’m going there just trying to have fun, try to do my job for the team as best I can and fortunately we won.”
The Lionesses trio are the only United representatives left in the tournament in Australia and New Zealand, after Vilde Boe Risa’s Norway were beaten 3-1 by Japan in Wellington on Saturday in their last-16 tie.
England will now face Colombia or Jamaica in the quarter-finals on Saturday (12 August) at Stadium Australia in Sydney, with that game kicking off at 11:30 BST.