England defeated Nigeria 4-2 in a penalty shoot-out after scoreless regular time and extra time in the Round of 16 game at the FIFA Women's World Cup at Brisbane Stadium in Brisbane, Australia, on Monday.

England will play the winner between Colombia and Jamaica in the quarterfinals.

Having won the UEFA European Women's Football Championship in 2022, England has been seen as one of the major champion candidates in this year's World Cup, and even more so after USA was eliminated by Sweden on Sunday. The team didn't lose any game in 2022.

In order to upset such powerful opponents, Nigeria did their homework well before Monday's game and implemented their ultimate plan on the field. Offensively, they barely dribbled around the midfield and, instead, kept attacking England behind their back line with quick long passes, especially in counterattacks.

Nigeria's defense was also well-designed. Whenever Keira Walsh or Lauren James, England's two offensive engines had the ball, at least two Nigerian defenders would immediately encircle them, keeping them from passing the ball forward and, thus, freezing England's offense before they even approached Nigeria's box.

England's best chance of attack happened in the 30th minute when Nigeria's defenders made a soft pass to the goalkeeper. It was cut by England's striker, but Chiamaka Nnadozie managed to block the shot.

Nigeria hit England's bar twice during the regular time. Their advantage continued to grow from the second half, especially after James was sent off by a red card 87th minute. The African team nearly sieged the European champions in their own side during extra time, but they just lacked good enough accuracy when they took the final shot.

England shot first from the penalty spot. Georgia Stanway missed England's first attempt, but Desire Oparanozie returned the favor. Her missed shot even flew in the same track as Stanway's.

Beth England, Rachel Daly, Alex Greenwood and Chloe Kelly all made their shot for England in the following four rounds. By contrast, Nigeria saw only Rasheedat Ajibade and Christy Ucheibe pick the ball out of the goal after their attempts. The close win put England one more step closer to winning their first World Cup trophy.

In the other Round of 16 game on Monday, Australia beat Denmark 2-0 at Stadium Australia in Sydney to reach the quarterfinals. Caitlin Foord and Hayley Raso scored two goals, one in the 29th minute and the other in the 70th minute, for the co-hosts.

Australia will meet the winner between France and Morocco in the quarterfinals.