Women’s World Cup LIVE: Latest England news ahead of quarter-finals

Australia’s Cortnee Vine says there is no limit to what team-mate Mary Fowler can achieve in the game and insisted she has not been surprised by the 20-year-old Manchester City forward’s stellar contribution.

Vine said: “She can just be amazing. I said to her before this tournament began that she’s going to have a fantastic tournament. She just has so much more to go and she’s still so young, I think we forget sometimes.

“She’s so mature and knows what she wants and is her own individual kind of person and when she gets on that field, you just see something special.

“I just think she’s going to keep growing from that. I can’t wait to see Mary keep going because she’s just killing it at the moment.”

Lucy Bronze admitted England “are not happy” with their World Cup displays, but vowed the Lionesses will step up on Saturday against Colombia.

The European champions rode their luck to beat Nigeria in the last 16 on penalties and will be without Lauren James, who will serve at minimum a one-game ban after her dismissal on Monday.

Barcelona defender Bronze said: “We’ve built on every game, we’ve taken something from every game, whether that was the Haiti game that was physical, the Denmark game when we lost our key player in Keira (Walsh), the China game we changed the formation completely, (Monday) we had a red card.

“Everything that has been thrown at us, we’ve dealt with and moved forward. I don’t see many other teams who’ve had that adversity and if they had, I don’t think they’ve managed to overcome the way we have. At the same time, we are not happy with our performances.”

Women’s World Cup LIVE: England release statement on James red card

After receiving a red card, Lauren James is automatically suspended for England’s next match against Colombia, however her punishment will be reviewed by a Fifa disciplinary panel.

If the forward is deemed to have committed a serious act of foul play, the panel have the power to apply further sanctions.

In a statement, the FA said they will support James throughout the disciplinary process and will be putting forward representation on her behalf.

“Lauren is really sorry for her actions which led to the red card and is full of remorse,” the statement said. “It is wholly out of character for her.”

Lauren James has promised to “learn” from her sending off at the Women’s World Cup – as the England star apologised to Nigeria’s Michelle Alozie for stamping on her back during the last-16 match.

James was shown a straight red card after leaving her studs on Alozie’s back when the defender was on the ground, with the 21-year-old having grown frustrated as Nigeria marked her out of the game.

The forward will be suspended for at least the quarter-finals, with England facing Colombia on Saturday after defeating Nigeria on penalties, but a Fifa disciplinary panel could decide that the act merits further punishment.

Alozie had tweeted “all respect to Lauren James” earlier on Tuesday after appearing to forgive the England player for the incident, adding “we are playing on the world’s stage, this game is one of passion, insurmountable emotions, and moments”.

James replied to Alozie’s post and said: “All my love and respect to you. I am sorry for what happened. Also, for our England fans and my team-mates, playing with and for you is my greatest honour and I promise to learn from my experience.”

England vs Colombia (11:30, Sydney) – Live on ITV 1

(England vs Colombia) vs (Australia vs France) (11:00, Sydney)

(England vs Colombia / Australia vs France) vs (Spain vs Netherlands / Japan vs Sweden) 11:00, Sydney)

England will play Colombia in the Women’s World Cup quarter-finals after the South American side defeated Jamaica 1-0 to set up a meeting with the Lionesses in Sydney on Saturday.

Catalina Usme’s composed second-half finish was enough to send Colombia through to their first ever Women’s World Cup quarter-final, with Jamaica unable to respond after conceding their first goal of the tournament.

Led by 18-year-old star forward Linda Caicedo and backed by a loud and passionate travelling support, Colombia caused a major shock in the group stages to stun two-time champions Germany and top Group H.

England survived a major scare to defeat Nigeria on penalties on Monday after having to play with 10 players in extra time following Lauren James’ red card. Sarina Wiegman must now wait to discover the extent of her star forward’s suspension, which is set to be decided by a disciplinary panel.

On the other side of the draw, France and Morocco play in the final last-16 tie later today, with a place against Australia up for grabs after the co-hosts comfortably defeated Denmark.

Spain face Netherlands in an all-European clash at the Women’s World Cup as the quarter-finals get underway in Australia and New Zealand.

Spain returned to form in the last-16 as they bounced back from their 4-0 defeat to Japan by thrashing Switzerland 5-1, with Aitana Bonmati playing a starring role with two goals.

Head coach Jorge Vilda made five changes to his team, including dropping star Alexia Putellas to the bench, but was rewarded with an improved performance as Spain reached their first ever Women’s World Cup quarter-final.

The Netherlands, who were runners-up in 2019, were given a stern test by South African in Sydney but progressed thanks to a stunning display from goalkeeper Daphne van Domselaar in the 2-0 win.

Here’s everything you need to know.

Match 49: Switzerland 1-5 Spain

Match 50: Japan 3-1 Norway

Match 51: Netherlands 2-0 South Africa

Match 52: Sweden 0-0 United States – Sweden win 5-4 on penalties

Match 53: Australia 2-0 Denmark

Match 56: Colombia 1-0 Jamaica (09:00, Melbourne) – ITV 1

Match 55: France 4-0 Morocco (12:00, Adelaide) – BBC One

QF1: Spain vs Netherlands (02:00, Wellington) – BBC One

QF2: Japan vs Sweden (08:30, Auckland) – BBC One

QF3: Australia vs France (08:00, Brisbane) – ITV 1

QF4: England vs Colombia (11:30, Sydney) – ITV 1

The quarter-finals of the Women’s World Cup are set as England continue their preparations for Saturday’s clash with Colombia in Sydney.

After a group stage of shocks and surprises, the tournament has reached its business end with several big names still standing. The Lionesses survived a scare to defeat Nigeria on penalties as Sarina Wiegman’s side reached the last eight, and are now awaiting news from Fifa’s disciplinary panel as star forward Lauren James faces being ruled out of the rest of her tournament after her red card.

The next two days are rest days for the teams left standing, with the action continuing on Friday with a blockbuster pair of matches. First Spain will play Netherlands in an all-European clash, before Sweden face Japan, who have been the standout team at the World Cup so far. It’s England’s turn on Saturday as they face Colombia, after co-hosts Australia play France on what is set to be an electric night in Brisbane.

Follow all the latest news from the Women’s World Cup in today’s live blog