Tournament favorites England take on Nigeria in the Round of 16 of the FIFA Women’s World Cup. The Lionesses finished first in their group with a perfect score. Nigeria advanced from a challenging group that included Australia and Canada.
Preview (England vs Nigeria)
After winning all three of their group games, England is hoping to follow up their triumph at the European Championship from the previous year with their first Women’s World Cup crown. The Lionesses won their first two games 1-0 against Haiti and Denmark. They struggled to rediscover their best form. It raised doubts about their ability to contend for the tournament’s overall victory. Keira Walsh’s injury led England manager Sarina Wiegman to adjust her team’s formation for the final group match against China from a 4-3-3 to a 3-4-1-2, which allowed Lauren James to play as the number 10 behind Alessia Russo and Lauren Hemp.
England, who under Wiegman have never lost a competitive match, will now focus on the knockout stages and hope to be motivated by the fact that they have won both of their previous two last-16 matches at the Women’s World Cup. Nigeria, meanwhile, made it through a challenging group to participate in the knockout stages for the third time in the tournament’s history.
They managed to hold Olympic champions Canada to a scoreless draw in their opening match before shocking tournament co-hosts Australia 3-2 on Matchday Two. In their last group match against the Republic of Ireland, they played out another scoreless draw to join Australia in the round of 16. The Super Falcons will now be aiming to achieve their first-ever victory in the Women’s World Cup knockout stages after having a victorious group stage. Nigeria will undoubtedly believe they can challenge the European champions and make further history after going five games without suffering a loss.
Team News
Wiegman is anticipated to select an identical starting lineup for Monday’s matchup against China after using a 3-4-1-2. With Millie Bright and Alex Greenwood, Jess Carter will continue to play in a back three. James has scored three goals in the past two games. She will try to keep up her strong play when she plays against Nigeria.
Deborah Abiodun received a red card in Nigeria’s opening encounter against Canada. She will serve a two-match suspension before being eligible to play again. Abiodun might have to make do with a spot on the bench. Randy Waldrum the manager of Nigeria, is expected to start the same lineup on Monday.
Sport Sermon England vs Nigeria FIFA Women’s World Cup Prediction
In the group stages, Nigeria showed that they were a difficult squad to defeat. We predict that they will give the European champions a tough time on Monday. However, we think England will maintain composure and defeat the Super Falcons. Although by a slim margin by drawing inspiration from their triumph at the European Championships the previous year.
England 2 – 1 Nigeria
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