However, Lauren James’ bad gesture did not prevent England from getting away with it against Nigeria (0-0, 4-2 on pens).
A star of the England team who commits a bad move in the round of 16 of the World Cup, it is reminiscent of the nightmare experienced by David Beckham in 1998 against Argentina. Lauren James experienced a similar mishap against Nigeria on Monday.
The Chelsea forward lost her nerves after a duel with Michelle Alozie. Getting up, she voluntarily stepped on the Nigerian player. The referee of the meeting first gave him a yellow card, but the penalty turned into red after the intervention of the VAR.
In slow motion, we can clearly see Lauren James wiping her cleats on her opponent, in a gesture reminiscent of Zinedine Zidane’s slip against Saudi Arabia during the 98 World Cup.
#FIFAWWC | 🟥 Red card for Lauren James! The 21-year-old is ruled out after intentionally stepping on Michelle Alozie.
💢 The English will end the meeting at ten.
▶ Follow the end of the match live: https://t.co/Lqty3QWBxK pic.twitter.com/At46bf3MRh
— francetvsport (@francetvsport) August 7, 2023
Reduced to 10, the English still managed to get by in extremis (0-0, 4-2 tab). But they may have lost their striker for the end of the tournament, as a three-match suspension would not be surprising for this violent gesture.
Lauren James was however in great shape during this World Cup. It was she who gave the victory to her team against Denmark (1-0), and she had scored two goals and signed three assists against China (6-1).
