The European champions had to make it through extra time without Lauren James since she was dismissed for aggressive behavior at the end of the regular 90 minutes.

Georgia Stanway then fired England’s first penalty wide, but Bethany England, Rachel Daly, Alex Greenwood and Kelly found the net to prevail 4-2 in the shootout and prevent a huge upset in Brisbane.

The Manchester City forward, who scored the game-winning goal in last year’s European Championship final, added, “It’s great, whatever that’s thrown at us we show what we’re capable of.

“Our extensive practice has paid off,”

The team of Sarina Wiegman is one of the favorites to win the Women’s World Cup for the first time and will play either Colombia or Jamaica in the round of eight.

However, they were lucky not to lose early like teams like Germany and the United States because Nigeria had the best of the game and had Ashleigh Plumptre hit the crossbar in the first half.

“This team is special,” Kelly continued. “We continue to advance. This particular team will have much to say.