England head coach, Sarina Wiegman, has acknowledged that the Super Falcons of Nigeria made things difficult for her side but praised their enduring spirit in the game.
The Lionesses were pinned back for most of the game.
Their task was made more difficult after Lauren James was sent off at 87th minute of the game.
Wiegman’s side rarely threatened their opponent in extra time but put up a resolute display at the back.
In the end, it was the European champions that claimed a 4-2 penalty shootout win.
The Dutch hailed her players for their strong character in the game.
“Lots of things are going through my head but the first thing is we stuck together as a team. It was a very, very hard game, then we had a red card and made it through extra time and then penalties, and how we did that as a team, we just kept going,” Wiegman was quoted by FIFA.com.
“I am proud of them. It says so much about this team. Not one game has been easy. We knew before this game, we said this is not an easy game, they are very organised, very physical and that’s exactly what we saw but we made it through and I’m really happy,” she added.
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