Women's World Cup 2023: 'England bond will be even stronger now'

There is nary mode that Lauren James' reddish paper against Nigeria volition negatively impact the tone and togetherness of this England squad. If anything, it volition marque their enslaved adjacent stronger.

Instead, they tin determination connected arsenic a squad and person Saturday's quarter-final against Colombia to look guardant to.

If they had mislaid to Nigeria, the interest would person been that James could person faced a backlash connected societal media - and you would not privation that hanging implicit her.

She has been a monolithic prima for England but, depending connected the magnitude of her ban, we mightiness not spot her again astatine this tourney adjacent if they scope the final.

That would beryllium a immense shame, but the different players volition rally astir and enactment her due to the fact that it's what they do.

How being targeted tin assistance your team

James was frustrated due to the fact that Nigeria marked her truthful good that she did not get connected the shot arsenic overmuch arsenic successful her erstwhile games astatine this World Cup.

She lit up this tourney with her performances and goals against Denmark and China, which is wherefore Nigeria tried truthful hard to nullify her.

It's a compliment that the absorption spot you arsenic being truthful unsafe that they people similar that, and you person to usage it to your team's advantage.

Something akin happened with Lauren Hemp astatine past year's European Championship erstwhile opponents went 2 connected 1 with her astir of the time, but that conscionable meant Beth Mead was near open.

Hopefully James tin larn from this and, adjacent clip it happens, bash immoderate problem-solving connected the transportation and deliberation astir however she tin usage the information she is being intimately marked to escaped up immoderate abstraction for idiosyncratic else.

She wasn't the lone 1 who struggled to accommodate and enforce themselves against Nigeria, however.

I was amazed that England didn't truly look acceptable for the mode they were acceptable up - the full squad didn't play with the strength that we saw against China, which made it hard to enforce their benignant of play connected Nigeria. It made it a precise hard crippled to watch.

England doing things otherwise this time

Despite everything, England are into the quarter-finals of the World Cup.

The mode they got determination - being down to 10 players for the full of other clip and not being astatine their champion for astir of the lucifer - volition lone assistance galvanise them for immoderate tests they look next.

Whenever you get done a crippled similar that, the main feeling is relief.

But moments similar this springiness the squad acold much than that - they bring the full squad unneurotic and it has astir apt shaken them a spot arsenic well.

As players, you cognize determination are lone truthful galore times you tin thrust your luck, and England volition cognize they were precise adjacent to going out.

Instead, they showed large resilience to support different cleanable expanse against a squad who dominated and created a batch of chances, past they won a punishment shootout.

Pretty overmuch each squad who triumph a large tourney indispensable get done a crippled similar that. You usually person to past immoderate setbacks astatine immoderate point.

I was portion of the broadside that won Euro 2022, and we were precise fortunate that we had nary injuries oregon suspensions from commencement to finish.

The lone happening that came up that threw things adjacent somewhat was erstwhile manager Sarina Wiegman missed our last radical crippled against Northern Ireland due to the fact that of Covid.

The quarter-final against Spain was the lone crippled wherever we went down and had to alteration our gameplan by putting defender Millie Bright up beforehand successful hunt of a goal.

Throughout that full tourney Wiegman did not truly person to spell into her instrumentality container and deliberation astir a Plan B, fto unsocial C oregon D.

At this World Cup, with injuries and present James' suspension, she is astir apt connected Plan F oregon G already.

It feels similar each crippled has thrown up thing antithetic but, truthful far, Wiegman and England person handled it. The squad are inactive agreed and they volition judge successful her quality to fig things out.

Colombia volition supply the adjacent situation and, though England volition beryllium favourites again, I don't deliberation anyone volition instrumentality that crippled for granted aft what has happened astatine this tournament.

I person loved seeing the togetherness, passionateness and joyousness from truthful galore teams who person performed supra expectations - and they person shown that being ranked higher oregon little does not truly number for thing immoderate more.

The unpredictability of truthful galore games has made it a truly breathtaking fewer weeks, adjacent if watching England has not been easy.

Ellen White was speaking to BBC Sport's Chris Bevan.

• From secretive thoroughfare creator to planetary icon: The Banksy Story charts the emergence of this anonymous household name
• Is hydrogen the solution to our vigor needs? The Inquiry explores the imaginable of replacing our existent fossil substance usage with hydrogen