England boss Sarina Wiegman admitted “sweetest person” Lauren James “lost her emotions” as she received a red card that could see the 21-year-old miss the remainder of the World Cup.
The Lionesses advanced to the quarter-finals after surviving James’ dismissal late in the second half to beat Nigeria on penalties, with Euro 2022 hero Chloe Kelly scoring the winning spot-kick in a 4-2 shoot-out success.
James’ brace and two assists earned her player-of-the-match honours against China, but this time she was sent off after it was ruled she had deliberately stepped on the back of Nigeria defender Michelle Alozie with three minutes of normal time remaining of a game that ended goalless after 120 minutes.
Wiegman, who had not watched the incident back, said: “She’s an inexperienced player on this stage and has done really well, and I think in a split second she just lost her emotions.
“And of course she doesn’t want to hurt anyone. She’s the sweetest person I know, and things happen like that and you can’t change it anymore, so it’s a huge lesson for her to learn, but of course it’s not something that she really did on purpose.”
Wiegman said she personally delivered a similar speech to James, adding: “Of course she apologised and she felt really, really bad.”
James became the fourth England player to be sent off in a World Cup knockout match after David Beckham, Wayne Rooney and current England captain Millie Bright, who was shown a second yellow against the United States in the 2019 semi-finals.
Chelsea forward James, who made her World Cup debut against Haiti, faces at minimum a one-match ban, but that could be extended by FIFA’s disciplinary committee to three which would see her miss the rest of the tournament even if the Lionesses reach the final.
England’s spirits were high to begin Monday night’s contest in Brisbane, where midfielder Keira Walsh made a remarkable return from what many thought was a tournament-ending knee injury 10 days ago against Denmark.
Walsh played 120 minutes against Nigeria before being substituted but Wiegman said: “She was cramping a little bit, so we had to take her off, but she’s OK.”
Wiegman benefitted from a healthy side en route to England’s Euro 2022 triumph, but after dealing with multiple injury problems in the run-up to the tournament and coping without key presence Walsh and now breakout talent James, she admitted: “I have never experienced so many problems, but of course it’s my job to think of things that can happen in a game or in a tournament or ahead of the tournament.
“So you try to turn every stone, and then try to already think of a solution if things happen, and today we got totally tested on those turned stones.”
Nigeria had impressed throughout the group stage and were no different against England, twice hitting the crossbar and frustrating the Lionesses by employing a higher press for this knockout encounter.
But England held on in James’ absence to ensure their destiny would be decided by spot-kicks, with Bethany England, Rachel Daly, Alex Greenwood and Kelly all scoring after Georgia Stanway fired the first wide.
“I’m really proud of the team,” added Wiegman. “We’ve had many setbacks. I think this (James red card) was a big one too.
“We had to reorganise and do something else on the pitch and we didn’t need any minute to do so.
“And of course players got really, really tired, but we really stuck together and showed a lot of resilience.”
Nigeria head coach Randy Waldrum, whose contract with his federation is soon set to expire, said: “They just played their heart out. I couldn’t be more proud of them. I take away that we can be and probably should be one of the top teams in the world.
“I certainly hope that FIFA ranking goes from 40 to a better number than that, but more importantly I think we’ve shown that we’re capable of playing with anybody.
“I think we gave some teams that are still alive in this tournament at least a blueprint of how to approach (England).”
Quinault could bid to extend his remarkable winning sequence to seven at the Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup on Saturday.
Having begun the season with a basement rating of just 59, the Stuart Williams-trained three-year-old has rattled off six successive victories, seeing his mark rise to a much loftier perch of 97.
Mill Stream, who was beaten a nose by Quinault in a valuable sprint handicap at Newmarket’s July meeting, gave the form a significant boost with a dominant Listed success in France on Sunday.
Williams though is looking at another handicap for his fast-improving speedster and views Saturday’s Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup Sprint as a suitable target.
“I’ve been very happy with him since the July meeting, he’s been training well,” he said.
“I’ve just entered him for the Shergar Cup on Saturday in the six-furlong race for three-year-olds only. Hopefully that will be his next port of call.”
With jockeys in the Shergar Cup team competition allocated by a series of ballots, Williams will have no say in who rides Quinault in Berkshire.
But with world-class riders like Frankie Dettori, Olivier Peslier, Tom Marquand and Hollie Doyle among those set to be in action, the Newmarket-based trainer is not overly concerned.
He added: “They’ve got some top-class jockeys, so you’d be hopeful that whoever rides him will be able to ride him fine. He’s not a difficult ride on the racecourse.
“He’s obviously surprised us – you wouldn’t have said at the start of the season he’d have a rating pushing 100 at this stage of the year.
“He hasn’t run on anything softer than good ground, but it’s usually fairly good on the straight course at Ascot unless it rains on the day and it’s supposed to be dry towards the end of the week so I can’t see it being a problem.”
Aston Villa captain John McGinn is in line for an Easter Road return after his side were paired with Hibernian or Luzern in the Europa Conference League play-offs.
The Scotland midfielder will be back in Leith on August 24 if Hibs can get past the Swiss side in the third qualifying round.
McGinn spent three years with Hibs and helped them win the Scottish Cup in 2016 for the first time in 114 years, before moving to Villa in 2018.
The Champions League draw earlier saw Rangers set up for a potential reunion of their own after they were paired against PSV Eindhoven or Sturm Graz if they progress.
The Ibrox side were seeded in the draw but must first get past Swiss side Servette, who travel to Glasgow on Wednesday in the first leg of the third qualifying round.
The Gers beat PSV 3-2 on aggregate at the same stage last year to reach the group stage, with Antonio Colak grabbing the winner when he netted the only goal of the second leg in the Netherlands.
Sturm Graz have included former Motherwell wing-back Max Johnston in their European squad, although he has only featured for the second team since his recent move.
Rangers would be at home in the first leg of the play-offs, which take place in the final two weeks of August. Defeat against Servette would see them go straight into the Europa League group stage.
Aberdeen could also face a rematch with recent opponents after being paired with either BK Hacken or Lithuanians Zalgiris Vilnius in the Europa League play-offs. The Dons beat the Swedes 5-1 at Pittodrie two years ago.
Barry Robson’s team are assured of group-stage football as they will drop into the Europa Conference League if they lose.
Also in the Conference League, Hearts will take on Croatians Hajduk Split or Greek side PAOK if they can get past Rosenborg.
Derry City will face Czech side Viktoria Plzen or Gzira United of Malta if they can see off Tobol Kostanay of Kazakhstan.
Play-off ties take place over the last two weeks in August.
A trip to Paris on Arc weekend and an appearance at the Breeders’ Cup are among the exciting options under consideration for Brave Emperor following his latest success in France on Sunday.
It has been quite the rise through the ranks for the Archie Watson-trained three-year-old, who began his campaign with a runner-up finish at Southwell in late January.
He had since won a Listed race at Cagnes-Sur-Mer, a conditions prize at Kempton, a Group Three in Germany and finished third in a Group Three in Sweden prior to his latest trip across the Channel.
Brave Emperor looked to face the toughest test of his career in the Group Three Prix Daphnis, but rose to the challenge under a power-packed ride from Luke Morris, leaving members of the Middleham Park Racing syndicate that own him eyeing loftier targets.
“It was a great piece of placement again from Archie. He’s placed him to perfection all season and I think Luke rode him to perfection as well,” said Middleham Park racing manager Tom Palin.
“You still need the horse to be able to do it, of course. It’s one thing finding these opportunities, but you’re still relying on a willing partner underneath you and this horse is definitely brave by name, brave by nature.
“He had to carry a 3lb penalty on Sunday, but he loves his racing and thrives on it. We’ve not really spared him, but he travels well and he’s just an absolute dude of a horse and a bit of a legend.
“There’s a small cohort of owners who follow him around. They’ve been to Sweden, they’ve been to Germany and they’ve been to France twice. He’s well supported wherever he goes and has a bit of a cult following here at Middleham Park.”
While plans for Brave Emperor’s next run remain fluid, Palin views the Prix Daniel Wildenstein – a Group Two run at ParisLongchamp in early October – as a likely objective for the autumn.
He added: “We’re probably going to have to start looking at bigger, sexier and dare I say scarier things with him going forward, but he’s fully entitled to now.
“The Wildenstein would be lovely and a very sensible target and we could look at the Prix du Moulin before then. I know that’s a Group One, but you are into Group Two/Group One territory now.
“We love to get our owners over for the Arc meeting if we can, it’s a meeting that’s served us well in the past, and maybe we’ll take in the Moulin on the way. It’s that or a Group Two in Germany, I think.
“I quite like the idea of the Wildenstein and then who knows, it could be onto the Breeders’ Cup. Archie and I have briefly mentioned that, but let’s see.
“Of course he’s going to have to improve, but that attitude he possesses is a huge asset, so why not give him a spin in those kind of races? You’re probably pitching him in for places, but who knows?”
New stoppage time rules saw playing time increase by around seven minutes on average compared to last season across the EFL’s opening weekend and Sunday’s Community Shield.
Arsenal and Manchester City’s clash at Wembley lasted longer than all but seven of last season’s Premier League games, following on from a league programme in which five games had over 20 minutes stoppage time across the first and second halves combined.
Here, the PA news agency looks at how the new approach affected playing time.
Community Shield
Substitute Leandro Trossard scored Arsenal’s equaliser in the 11th of 12 minutes added at full-time against City before his side sealed victory on penalties.
A total of 105 minutes and 45 seconds of playing time was over six minutes longer than last year’s equivalent fixture between City and Liverpool.
It was also more than seven minutes up on last term’s Premier League average of 98mins 31secs and longer than all but seven of the season’s 380 top-flight games – Chelsea v Everton, on last August’s opening day, being the longest at 110:21.
City boss Pep Guardiola expressed frustration before the match with the new rules, noting that “every game we’re going to play for 100 minutes” as part of a wider criticism of the demands placed on players.
Opposite number Mikel Arteta was unsurpisingly more positive after Trossard’s strike, saying: “It is really good to do that (enforce rules against time-wasting). It was going too far and now teams are going to have to think twice.
“We have to prepare to play 100 minutes. It is going to happen every single week.”
Championship
Average playing time across the 12 Championship fixtures this weekend was 104 minutes and nine seconds, nearly six minutes up on last season’s average of 98:21.
Leeds’s Crysencio Summerville snatched an equaliser against Cardiff in the fifth added minute while Adam Idah’s winner for Norwich came in the sixth, with Hull manager Liam Rosenior sent off for his protests after only five were indicated by the fourth official.
Ipswich’s win at Sunderland was the longest game at just over 108 minutes, with all bar Middlesbrough v Millwall and Bristol City v Preston cracking the 100-minute barrier.
League One
The third tier saw Saturday’s matches all last beyond 100 minutes with an average of exactly 106, up from 99:20 last term.
Portsmouth’s 83rd-minute substitue Kusini Yengi scored a stoppage-time equaliser against Bristol Rovers, albeit barely a minute beyond the end of the 90, while Fleetwood’s equaliser at Carlisle came in the fourth minute of first-half added time.
Northampton v Stevenage, with a total playing time of 112 minutes and 36 seconds, was the longest across the English league this weekend.
League Two
The most striking increase came in League Two, where games lasted an average of 107 minutes and four seconds – exactly eight minutes longer than last season.
Accrington v Newport was the longest at 110:46 while even the shortest games, Stockport v Gillingham and Wrexham v MK Dons, lasted 104:24.
Farrend Rawson scored Morecambe’s winner two minutes into added time against Walsall while Wrexham’s typically madcap 5-3 loss on their EFL return featured goals in the fourth and sixth minutes of second-half stoppage time.
Lauren James became the fourth England player to be sent off in a World Cup knockout match after her red card against Nigeria.
The 21-year-old suffered the same fate as David Beckham, Wayne Rooney and Millie Bright on the world stage.
Here, the PA news agency looks back at those who saw red in white.
David Beckham v Argentina, 1998
England were drawing 2-2 with their fierce rivals from South America when, two minutes after half-time, Beckham was shoved to the ground by Argentina henchman Diego Simeone.
As he was lying face down on the pitch, the Manchester United midfielder petulantly swung his right leg at the perpetrator.
It was hardly the crime of the century but it occurred right in front of referee Kim Morten Nielsen, who booked Simeone before swapping cards and giving Beckham his marching orders.
The 10 players of England managed to hold out for a 2-2 draw but lost on penalties, with Beckham made the scapegoat for their exit in the last 16.
Wayne Rooney v Portugal, 2006
Rooney was tussling for the ball with Ricardo Carvalho when he left the sole of his boot in the groin of the Portugal defender.
Cristiano Ronaldo, Rooney’s then-Manchester United team-mate, led the protests towards referee Horacio Marcelo Elizondo, who initially looked set to take no further action after awarding a free-kick.
Rooney shoved Ronaldo away before Elizondo brandished the red card, prompting the famous wink towards the bench from the Portugal superstar.
Again, England held out for more than half an hour a player down to force penalties after a goalless draw. And again, they lost the shoot-out to exit in the quarter-finals.
Millie Bright v USA, 2019
England were 2-1 down, had seen a goal disallowed and missed a penalty when, in the 86th minute, centre-half Bright made another heavy challenge on USA goalscorer Alex Morgan.
Having already been booked for a crunching tackle on the striker in the first half, Bright was shown a second yellow to become the first woman to be sent off for England at a World Cup.
It was a deflating semi-final exit for the Lionesses, while the USA went on to lift the trophy in France, with England eventually finishing fourth.
Lauren James v Nigeria, 2023
There were echoes of Beckham and Rooney when England’s brightest young star, Chelsea forward James, trod on the back of Nigeria’s Michelle Alozie.
James was initially booked for the 87th-minute incident but the replays were not pretty and, after a VAR review, it was upgraded to a red card.
England held out through extra time for a goalless draw and, for a change, won the penalty shoot-out to go through to the quarter-finals.
Ground conditions will dictate whether Mick Appleby supplements Ascot and Goodwood hero Big Evs for the Nunthorpe Stakes at York.
The two-year-old was a Royal Ascot winner when landing the Windsor Castle Stakes in mid-June, sprinting to three-length victory having started a relative outsider at 20-1.
He was not so overlooked when stepping up to Group Three level in the Molecomb at Goodwood, where he started as the 9-4 joint favourite on ground vastly different to Ascot’s good to firm.
Rain had left the South Downs track soft underfoot, but Big Evs showed a great will to win when prevailing by a neck from Andrew Balding’s Purosangue.
Immediately after the race, connections discussed a supplementary entry for the Group One Nunthorpe on August 25, which would cost £40,000.
The race has not been won by a two-year-old since Kingsgate Native in 2007 and the state of the ground in the lead up to the fixture will determine whether or not Big Evs bids to become the latest juvenile to feature on the roll of honour.
“He’s fine, he’s all good and he’s come out of the race really well,” Appleby said.
“He didn’t really like the ground but he’s obviously quite tough and he toughed it out.
“We’ve got a great attitude, now we’ve got to decide whether we supplement for the Nunthorpe or not.
“We’ve had discussion about it with the owner, a lot will depend on the ground and we will probably not decide until the week before when we have to supplement.
“If it was soft ground we’d probably not go there with him, but we’ve got plenty of time until we have to decide.”
England’s players will rally round Lauren James after her “Beckhamesque moment of madness” in the team’s penalty shoot-out victory over Nigeria in the World Cup last 16.
Former men’s national team striker Gary Lineker likened the 21-year-old Chelsea forward’s red card for petulantly standing on Michelle Alozie as she lay on the floor to Beckham’s kick-out at Argentina’s Diego Simeone at the 1998 World Cup.
“The @Lionesses down to 10 as Lauren James has a Beckhamesque moment of madness,” Lineker wrote on Twitter.
However, while the former Manchester United star’s sending-off contributed to the team’s difficulties, Sarina Wiegman’s side have progressed to the quarter-finals.
Criticism of James, receiving the side’s first red card since Millie Bright’s dismissal in the World Cup semi-final defeat to the United States in 2019, has been well short of what Beckham received and team-mate Lauren Hemp said she would receive the full support of the squad.
“It’s things that happen in football, it’s not nice to see a red card but I felt like going down to 10 players we dealt with it very well, we were super-resilient and didn’t let them score,” Hemp told BBC Radio 5 Live.
“It’s one of those things. We will get around Lauren James in the coming days, she’s still very young.”
James is likely to face a three-match ban for violent conduct, which would rule her out for the remainder of the tournament.
“We all know Lauren is magic, she is our weapon and it’s a big loss for us but we can’t change that now,” team-mate Beth England added on Radio 5 Live.
“We have an unbelievable squad and players who can fill in in that position and hopefully we can see her again in the tournament.”
Wiegman told Radio 5 Live it was a “very hard lesson to learn”, adding: “It happens unfortunately and of course she doesn’t want to harm anyone.”
Former England defender Anita Asante was critical of James’ 87th-minute reaction to her growing frustration in the game, which finished 0-0 after extra-time.
“I’m really disappointed. One act has kind of tarnished all the good work that Lauren James has done up until this point,” she told Radio 5 Live.
“She is a superstar and hopefully she will grow from this experience.”
Asante was also critical of a lacklustre performance.
“England will go back, analyse the game and hopefully there will be some hard truths in the changing room,” she added.
“They need to hold each other accountable, including that moment with Lauren James.
“England are very lucky to have progressed to the quarter-finals and they definitely need to step up performances if they want to get all the way to a final.”
Another former international Alex Scott was more positive, however, telling BBC One: “When you think about how you go on to win tournaments you need moments of luck, magic, finding a way – which they did.”
New guidelines on added time and player behaviour are set to dominate the debate in the early weeks of the new domestic season in England.
Here, the PA news agency takes a closer look.
– What has happened?
Referees in the Premier League and the EFL, in line with every other competition around the world, have been instructed by the game’s lawmakers to more accurately calculate time lost to stoppages this season – including goal celebrations, substitutions and VAR checks.
The approach was first adopted at the men’s World Cup in Qatar last year, where on average FIFA found 10 minutes and 11 seconds were added to matches at the finals.
– Why is this being done?
The idea is to clamp down on time-wasting and increase effective playing time. The game’s world governing body FIFA found that while added time was up in Qatar compared to the 2018 finals in Russia, effective playing time increased from 55 minutes and 41 seconds in Russia to 59 minutes and 47 seconds in Qatar.
– What has been the impact in England so far?
Arsenal have been early beneficiaries of the new approach, scoring in the 11th of 13 added minutes at the end of the Community Shield on Sunday to draw level against Manchester City before going on to win on penalties. The match lasted 105 minutes and 45 seconds, well above last season’s Premier League average of 98 minutes and 31 seconds.
Games averaged over 100 minutes in each division of the EFL over the opening weekend, with the highest average recorded in League Two – 107 minutes and four seconds.
– What has the reaction been?
While the feedback received in Qatar was largely positive, the approach has faced some early criticism in the English game.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola and Manchester United defender Raphael Varane have hit out at what they say is a lack of consultation with players and coaches over the introduction of these guidelines.
The chief executive of the Professional Footballers’ Association, Maheta Molango, has met with members of the union over the summer – including Varane during meetings with both Manchester clubs last week. The PFA said players expressed concerns over the impact of this new guidance across the course of a long season, having already pushed back at a “completely unsustainable” calendar
– What do the game’s leaders say?
FIFA referees’ chief Pierluigi Collina insists the change in approach will be beneficial in cutting out time-wasting, and is confident added time levels will drop when players realise there is no benefit to trying to waste time. He pointed out that even in Qatar there was a drop-off as players adapted – with 11 minutes and six seconds added on average in the group stage, dropping as low as seven minutes and 15 seconds in the last 16.
He also pointed out the approach would not make a massive difference in the Premier League – citing the fact that 10 minutes or more had been added in four of the 10 top-flight matches played on the first weekend in March this year.
– Is there really an impact on player workload?
Global players’ union FIFPRO says there could be, if the levels of added time witnessed in Qatar were sustained across a season. A report it commissioned earlier this year said the changes in added time could equate to three extra games per season for the players with the highest workloads currently.
– What else is new?
Players and coaches can expect to see a tougher and more consistent approach from officials towards dissent and abuse, as part of a wider effort to improve conduct across the board in the English game.
Referees have been instructed to show at least one yellow card where two or more players confront them, while players and coaches in the professional game who repeatedly or seriously abuse officials can expect to face tougher financial sanctions from the Football Association. In the grassroots game, such actions will lead to points deductions this season.
Fan behaviour is also being looked at, with the game’s authorities determined to pursue criminal charges against anyone found to be involved in football tragedy abuse, in addition to clamping down on pitch invasions, drugs and pyrotechnics at games.
England head coach Steve Borthwick’s World Cup squad announcement has delivered its share of surprises.
Here, the PA news agency looks at selection successes and some big names who have missed out.
HITSJoe Marchant (Stade Francais)
Marchant is among 16 players in the squad with no World Cup experience, but his ability to threaten opposition defences as either a centre or wing cannot be questioned. He was one of the few successes during England’s tame warm-up defeat against Wales on Saturday, and he will relish stepping on to the sport’s biggest stage in France.
Theo Dan (Saracens)
Saracens hooker Dan has enjoyed a rapid rise in terms of England recognition. London-born to Romanian parents, he only made his full Premiership debut 10 months ago and gained a first England cap against Wales on Saturday. He has excelled in the Premiership, and is one of three hookers named in Borthwick’s group alongside Dan’s club colleague Jamie George and Harlequins forward Jack Walker.
David Ribbans (Toulon)
South Africa-born lock Ribbans, who qualifies for England via an English grandmother, established himself among the Premiership’s most consistent performers during his time at Northampton. His international breakthrough came during the Autumn Nations series last year, and he now makes Borthwick’s cut ahead of a player like Sale Sharks’ experienced Test second-forward Jonny Hill.
MISSESHenry Slade (Exeter)
Exeter centre Slade’s absence is undoubtedly the major surprise sprung by Borthwick. He offers vast experience, with 57 caps, and was widely expected to be among England’s midfield options alongside players like Ollie Lawrence and Manu Tuilagi. Selected pair Marchant and Elliot Daly, though, potentially offer more positional versatility, which might have gone against the 30-year-old.
Jonny May (Gloucester)
Only Rory Underwood has scored more tries for England than Gloucester wing May. His 35 touchdowns in 72 Tests underline a finisher of the highest quality, but he had lost ground in the race for a back-three place. Reputation alone might have swayed some coaches in terms of selection, but not Borthwick. At 33, it remains to be seen if May plays Test rugby again.
Alex Dombrandt (Harlequins)
After Harlequins number eight Dombrandt played a prominent role during his club’s Premiership title-winning campaign of 2020-21, it appeared that sustained England recognition would follow. But despite having a number of opportunities at Test level, he has never delivered consistency, and Borthwick has gone with just one specialist number eight – Saracens’ Billy Vunipola – for the World Cup.
Chloe Kelly hailed England as a “special team” as she once again proved to be the match-winner by scoring the decisive penalty in a World Cup shoot-out win over Nigeria.
The European Champions were second best for much of their last-16 clash, with their chances of securing victory hampered by a late red card for Lauren James after a needless stamp on Michelle Alozie.
After a goalless 120 minutes, Georgia Stanway fired the first spot-kick of the shoot-out wide for England only for both Desire Oparanozie and Alozie to miss the target with their efforts.
With everyone else successful from the spot, it fell on Kelly to emphatically smash home the winning penalty, following on from her extra-time winner in the Euros final last summer and the decisive spot-kick in a shoot-out win over Brazil in the Finalissima in April.
“No, definitely not, it is the team,” she told BBC Sport when asked about once again being the match-winner.
“This team is special, we did it in the Euros, we did it in the Finalissima, we are here again tonight and doing it; we keep pushing forward and there is more to come form this special team.
“It is amazing, anything that is thrown at us, we show what we are capable of.
“We dig deep, we dig deep as a group, we believe in our ability; first and foremost we believe in what we are being told to do.”
Asked about what was going through her head as she walked up to take her penalty, the Manchester City forward replied: “For me, it is ‘I’m going to score’ – that is how I look at it, once I win that mental battle we are good.
“We have been practising (penalties) a lot actually and it has been working.”
The Prince and Princess of Wales have congratulated the Lionesses after they secured a place in the Women’s World Cup quarter-finals.
William and Kate praised the team’s “hard-fought” victory after England beat Nigeria 4-2 on penalties on Monday.
A post on their official Twitter account said: “Well done @Lionesses!
“It was hard-fought but now we’re on to the quarter-finals. Good luck.”
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer also took to social media to praise the victorious England team.
He tweeted: “That was tense!
“Congratulations to the @Lionesses on a hard-fought win.
“Bring on the quarter finals.”
Dejan Kulusevski has vowed to do “everything” in his power to help convince Harry Kane to stay at Tottenham.
Kane ignored the noise around his future to score four times in Spurs’ 5-1 friendly victory over Shakhtar Donetsk on Sunday.
The England captain remains the subject of intense interest from Bayern Munich, who are reported to have lodged their latest offer for the forward on Friday, although no outcome of the bid has been announced.
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New Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou hailed Kane’s professionalism after his four-goal salvo and his team-mate echoed those sentiments.
“He scored four goals, so very good,” Kulusevski exclaimed.
“Nah, he’s unbelievable. Honestly, his mentality, I can learn from him like everybody. He just goes out and performs day in day out.
“He’s a true professional. I’m happy I helped him score today but of course we want him to stay and we’ll do everything to make him stay.”
Asked whether it would be beneficial to have Kane’s future sorted sooner rather than later, Kulusevski admitted: “I think it would. On the other hand, you can only control what you can control. We players cannot do anything about it.
“We work our hardest, try to stay ready and the players that manage it, it’s up to them.”
The uncertainty over Kane does not appear to be going away but Tottenham are close to the signings of Micky Van De Ven and Argentinian youngster Alejo Veliz, the PA news agency understands.
Both Wolfsburg centre-back Van De Ven and Rosario Central forward Veliz are booked in to have medicals on Monday and – if their transfers are finalised in time – they could be set to make the trip to Barcelona for Tuesday’s final pre-season match of the summer.
It will be the last chance for Postecoglou to get his squad attuned to his front-foot, progressive style of football before their Premier League opener away to Brentford on Sunday.
Kulusevski, after being accustomed to a pragmatic and counter-attacking approach under Antonio Conte previously, is relishing the attacking brand brought in by the Australian.
“It is fun actually. I love it,” he said.
“You have to be physically very good, I love that too. I’m enjoying having a lot of ball higher on the pitch, so I’m very grateful to have him (Postecoglou).
“I like him a lot. Also in half-time he was very angry because we stopped playing for five minutes and you cannot be like that.
“You have to play always. Just because you’re tired, you (can’t) let them have the ball. Things happen like that. So I like him a lot and I’m looking forward to improving under him.”
Kane broke the deadlock from the penalty spot after 38 minutes of Sunday’s friendly with Shakhtar, but the visitors levelled before the break through Kevin Kelsy.
Postecoglou’s half-time hairdryer worked a treat though, with Kane heading home James Maddison’s cross soon after before Kulusevski’s through ball saw the forward clinch his hat-trick in 55 minutes.
There was still time for Manor Solomon’s saved effort to be tapped home by Kane for his fourth and his replacement Dane Scarlett grabbed a fifth with the last kick of the match.
Kulusevski did concede there will be an adjustment period for Tottenham under Postecoglou.
He said: “Everything takes time in life, but the thing is we really, really have to believe in it. It’s not enough if he’s trying to make us believe. We all have to do it.
“But we’re in a good way, I think. This was the first game when we played 90 minutes. We’re happy, we ran a lot. It was quite good.
“Last season, maybe we scored one and then we tried to protect the result. So, of course we have to improve but second half was very, very good.
“He (Postecoglou) said we always have to play. Don’t shoot away the ball, don’t stop pressing, don’t waste time. Always play, play the same and don’t think about the score or the time. Just play and have fun.
“We all want to score much more. When we go 1-0, we want to score the second, not back off. So, we all we want to score much more.”
Chloe Kelly added another memorable moment to her Lionesses career as her spot-kick secured 10-woman England a place in the World Cup quarter-finals after a dramatic shoot-out with Nigeria in Brisbane.
It was not all elation for England, however, after Lauren James was shown a straight red card for a stamp on Michelle Alozie following a VAR review late in the second half which could see her banned for the remainder of this tournament.
Midfielder Keira Walsh returned for the first time since she was carried off the pitch on a stretcher in England’s 1-0 group-stage victory against Denmark and played 120 minutes of a dramatic contest.
England were far from their best and were lucky not to exit the tournament in 90 minutes, but dug deep to ensure the match finished goalless after extra time, with Euro 2022 hero Kelly firing in the decisive penalty.
The European champions largely remained camped inside Nigeria’s half for the first 10 minutes, before the Super Falcons began to build momentum.
Georgia Stanway’s stumble led to their first real chance as Uchenna Kanu directed a header at the England goal but was blocked at the last by Millie Bright’s clearance.
Randy Waldrum’s side threatened again as former England youth international Ashleigh Plumptre came within inches of an opener when her attempt clipped the underside of the crossbar and it took a brilliant save by Earps to stop the ex-Leicester defender soon after.
The Lionesses were then initially awarded a penalty when Rasheedat Ajibade initially appeared to shove Daly inside the area, Stanway convinced enough she started stepping up to the spot, but the decision was reversed after Honduran referee Melissa Borjas was sent to check the pitchside monitor.
James, largely subdued after her two-goal, three-assist performance against China, then saw an effort sail over.
It was the Super Falcons who attacked first in the second half, Kanu’s nodded effort catching the woodwork, while England struggled to find the same fluidity they displayed in their 6-1 rout of China – a side ranked 26 places above Nigeria.
Waldman brought on his most fearsome weapon in Bronze and Walsh’s Barcelona team-mate Asisat Oshoala, the five-time African women’s footballer of the year with whom they lifted the Champions League trophy in June.
Stanway was next to try to get a misfiring England going with a delivery from the right to find Daly, who volleyed wide.
England were lucky when Kanu spun a header past the right post as they searched for a solution to Nigeria’s relentless physicality before a fine stop from Chiamaka Nnadozie firstly prevented Daly nodding in from six yards and then Russo from the left.
It was the Nigerian fans whose voices echoed loudest as they earned another free kick and continued to pile the pressure on England.
Things went from bad to worse for Wiegman’s side when another call to the monitor ruled James had deliberately stamped on the back of Nigeria defender Alozie and she was sent off with three minutes of normal time remaining.
“Eye of the Tiger” blasted over the speakers as the Lionesses willed themselves to fight through extra time a player light and again breathed a sigh of relief when Alozie should have given Nigeria the lead but missed a big chance at the near post.
England doggedly defended their way through as Wiegman made just her second substitution, swapping Lauren Hemp for Bethany England at the 106-minute mark after replacing Russo with Kelly after 88 minutes.
Earps kept the Lionesses in it when she calmly caught Oshoala’s effort from inside the penalty area as Walsh’s comeback finally came to a close and the Lionesses calmly closed out extra time to ensure their World Cup destiny would be decided by spot kicks.
Stanway, whose penalty was the only goal in England’s 1-0 opening victory against Haiti, stepped up first but this time fired wide of the left post, reprieved when Desire Oparanozie sent hers to the exact same spot.
Beth England, who did not play a single minute of England’s Euro 2022 triumph last summer, pumped her fist in the air when she fired past Nnadozie and Alozie skied her effort as the Lionesses turned to Rachel Daly.
The Women’s Super League Golden Boot winner gave the Nigerian keeper no chance with a perfectly-placed penalty to the top corner before Ajibade beat Earps.
Greenwood and Christy Ucheibe both converted and so it was up to Kelly, who, with another significant contribution on the global stage, fired England through.
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