Women’s World Cup 2023: England’s Millie Bright praises ‘growth’ of game following ‘hard’ Nigeria battle

Sarina Wiegman’s side needed penalties to overcome the Super Falcons – which they won 4-2 – but only after the African side enjoyed a dominant 120-minute performance.

Since the game, Bright has claimed that there are no longer only “one or two nations shining” at major tournaments and that the level across the women’s game has improved.

“That is the growth of the women’s game. We expected this and it tests us as a group,” she said. “It’s football – it happens. There is no perfect solution for opponents. We have to be better.

“It’s exciting. That is what we wanted in the women’s game – we wanted growth and we wanted nations to step up and improve. That’s exactly what you are seeing at this World Cup.”

England were heavy favourites going into the game and after Lauren James’ red card in the 87th minute, it looked as though Nigeria were likely to become the first African team to win a World Cup knockout match.

But the 10 players of England held firm to take the game to penalties, and eventually win the shoot-out thanks to Chloe Kelly slamming her decisive penalty into the top corner.

“Many asked ‘was that hard out there?’ Of course, it’s hard – it’s a knockout game in a World Cup – and we knew that these games were going to be extremely tough coming into this tournament,” Bright said when reflecting on their round of 16 triumph.

“Our character, our mentality and our resilience to give absolutely everything to the badge and to represent our fans at home ultimately helped us to find a way to win.

“We are through to the next round. Tournament football is about getting the job done. Of course, we all want to be better. We all want to play the perfect performance, but I am just bothered if we get through.

“We are on our path. You could go out at any point in the knockout stages. That’s why we don’t take anything for granted and we really respect all opponents that we come up against. They are here for a reason.”

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