 Arsenal head coach Jonas Eidevall has questioned Sarina Wiegman for not subbing off Lauren James prior to the Lionesses star getting sent off for lashing out at Michelle Alozie in Monday's last-16 clash with Nigeria at the Women's World Cup. Although England bossed possession for large periods in the match it was Nigeria who were by far the more threatening of the two sides. The 11-time Africa Cup of Nations champions played with so much energy and vigour going forward, racking up nine shots in the first half alone, and they hit the woodwork twice. They were rather profligate, though, with Mary Earps only forced into making one stop while it was England who carved out the best chance of normal time when Rachel Daly was left unmarked from a corner in the 76th minute. But England's task was made especially hard when James was sent off for violent conduct in the 87th minute. The Chelsea attacker had initially been shown a yellow card for an off-the-ball altercation but the referee was sent to the monitor by VAR to review the incident. After a coming together with Alozie, James clearly thrust her boot into the back of her opponent while she was lying on the floor and, after watching numerous replays on the pitch-side monitor, Melissa Borjas was forced to upgrade her original decision to a red card. Eidevall felt James – who excelled in the group stages – had already been showing signs of frustration in the contest after struggling to get involved in the match and believes Wiegman made a mistake by not replacing her sooner. Asked if James had been left on the pitch too long, Eidevall told BBC Sport: 'It's decision fatigue. The two games before this probably took their toll for energy, we could see in the game that she was starting to take some bad decisions on and off the ball. James initially fell on top of Alozie (Picture: PA) James clearly left her boot in as she got up off the floor (Pictur){kind=link}
NEWS… BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT
Arsenal head coach Jonas Eidevall has questioned Sarina Wiegman for not subbing off Lauren James prior to the Lionesses star getting sent off for lashing out at Michelle Alozie in Monday’s last-16 clash with Nigeria at the Women’s World Cup.
Although England bossed possession for large periods in the match it was Nigeria who were by far the more threatening of the two sides. The 11-time Africa Cup of Nations champions played with so much energy and vigour going forward, racking up nine shots in the first half alone, and they hit the woodwork twice.
They were rather profligate, though, with Mary Earps only forced into making one stop while it was England who carved out the best chance of normal time when Rachel Daly was left unmarked from a corner in the 76th minute.
But England’s task was made especially hard when James was sent off for violent conduct in the 87th minute. The Chelsea attacker had initially been shown a yellow card for an off-the-ball altercation but the referee was sent to the monitor by VAR to review the incident.