If Lauren James is to fulfil her potential as the next superstar of women’s football, she will have to get used to close attention from opponents after allowing her frustration to get the better of her in Brisbane.
James could have no complaints about being shown a straight red card for a cynical stamp on the back of Michelle Alozie after losing possession to the Nigeria forward. She was initially booked but it was rightly upgraded to a red after referee Melissa Borjas reviewed the footage on the pitch-side monitor on advice from the VAR.
Her dismissal — which had echoes of David Beckham’s red card against Argentina in the 1998 World Cup — left England facing an uphill battle to overcome an excellent Nigeria, which they eventually did after a penalty shootout.
James’ moment of madness came after 86 minutes of being expertly shackled by the Nigerians, who were the better side over the first 90 minutes and twice hit the bar.
Sarina Wiegman was left perplexed on the eve of the last-16 tie when told by a reporter “the cat is now out of the bag” where James is concerned. If the Lionesses’ Dutch head coach was confused by the idiom before the match, she will be in little doubt about now, as Nigeria nullified James superbly.
The Chelsea forward was at the heart of everything good about England as they edged through the group with 1-0 wins over Haiti and Denmark, and the 6-1 thrashing of China. She scored a brilliant winner against the Danes and followed it with two fines strikes to suggest she was on course to be the breakout star of the tournament and compensate for both the goals of Beth Mead and the creativity of Fran Kirby — both missing from the finals with knee injuries.
Nigeria, though, shackled James and offered a blueprint for subduing England’s talisman. Playing at No10 in Wiegman’s new-look 3-4-1-2 formation, James was marked by Nigeria midfielder Halimatu Ayinde, who followed her like a shadow, making for an intensely physical and largely one-sided battle.
Though James thrashed a couple of volleys at goal, by half-time only Lauren Hemp had had fewer touches, as England laboured to get their danger-woman into the game.
Wiegman and Lucy Bronze had spoken before the game about hoping to surprise Nigeria with their adaptability after the head coach had switched systems against China to compensate for the absence of Keira Walsh — who returned to the XI today but was also subdued.
Nigeria boss Randy Waldrum was clearly prepared for England’s system, however, and aware that James would attempt to find pockets of space to pick up the ball and drive at the opposition players or shoot.
Nigeria’s regimented pressing and intensely physicality ensured they were the better side, prompting James’ frustration to boil over.
“I’m really disappointed,” said former England defender Anita Asante on the BBC’s coverage. “One act has kind of tarnished all the good work that Lauren James has done up until this point. She is a superstar and hopefully she will grow from this experience.
“Her team now have lost a player who has the ability to turn a game on its head.”
James trudged off to the dressing room knowing and knows she will miss the quarter-finals. For all her heroics in the group stage, she could well have cost her team-mates on the biggest possible stage and it will be a harsh lesson for the 21-year-old.
