England’s heroic penalty takers saved Lauren James from sporting ignominy

That sound, that deep sigh of relief, you could almost hear echoing round the Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane when Chloe Kelly’s penalty smacked into the back of the Nigerian net, sending England through to the Quarter-final of the Women’s World Cup, can surely have only had one source...

It came not from the watching England supporters, who had seen the favourites deliver their least impressive performance of the tournament thus far, nor did it emanate from the dugout where the ever-calm coach Sarina Wiegman managed to maintain her dignity, even in the most demanding of circumstance. No, it would have come from Lauren James, temporarily ensconced in the dressing room.

Obliged to watch it all unfold from where she had been dispatched after receiving a red card for a maddeningly irresponsible stamp on her opponent Michelle Alozie, you can only imagine how she must have felt as the shootout got under way. It was probably as well no camera was there to intrude on her turmoil.

Because, never mind for the fans, for players the 12-yard lottery is the most emotionally draining aspect of knock-out football. Lose and the misery is all-consuming. Even players as garlanded as the USA’s Megan Rapinoe crumple, visibly, in defeat. Win, as England did, and everything is wonderful. The poor performance that led you to that position in the first place is immediately forgotten, the celebrations are unrestrained, the jubilation contagious.

But for James, alone but for a member of the coaching staff dispatched to ensure she didn’t stray from her position of exile, it was a shootout of particular poignancy. It is no exaggeration to suggest that on it rode much of her future. Had England lost, she would have been held entirely to blame. If her teammates had been awry with their shooting, she would have been cast as public enemy number one. Had Nigeria got the proper reward their performance demanded, she would have been vilified. The fact is, she owes England’s four penalty scorers – Kelly, Alex Greenwood, Bethany England and Rachel Daly – not just a drink, but her reputation.

Here she was going into the game, the competition’s breakout star, the one upon whom all eyes were trained. Against Denmark, in the group stage, James had scored a wonder goal, against China she scored two more and registered three assists. At just 21 years old, a new world-leading talent had emerged. The very mention of her name was the cause of unbridled optimism. Against Nigeria, we assumed she would surely make a difference. She would be our game changer.

Except the Nigerians clearly recognised her threat. Constantly monitored by her assiduous marker Michelle Alozie, she was shackled and constricted, restricted to no more than a handful of meaningful contributions, her name barely mentioned in the commentary. And then, with 10 minutes left and England desperately needing an impact from their talis-woman, her frustrations erupted. Once more finding herself on the turf, as she rose, she stamped on Alozie’s back. Her assault was not just petulant, childish and remarkably stupid, it was wholly self-destructive. How were England going to win with her in the dressing room?

Mind you, it was not the first time we have seen pressure provoke temporary insanity, turning potential matchwinners into liabilities. James wasn’t even born when David Beckham stuck out a boot to catch the Argentinian Diego Simeone at the 1998 World Cup, to be sent off even as England were gaining the upper hand. She was only five years old when, in the 2006 World Cup final, the venerable Zinedine Zidane reacted to a taunt from his opponent Marco Materazzi by planting his forehead into the Italian’s chest. After receiving his marching orders, the cameras caught him walking forlornly past the trophy towards his early appointment with the showers. Had she studied them, she would have learned that even the best are prone to succumbing to the descent of the red mist.

But here’s the thing that differentiates all of them from her: in each case, those red-carded superheroes went on to watch their colleagues lose the ensuing shootout. The blame for defeat – however unfairly – was placed squarely on their shoulders.

For Beckham, the repercussions were alarming, not to mention demeaning. A dummy replica of him was hung from an East End lamp post. One tabloid, edited by a rabid supporter of another league club, cynically orchestrated disgust at his indiscretions. Though at least he had the chance for redemption, winning the treble the following season. Zidane was denied such an opportunity: that was his last ever football match as a player. Instead of bowing out in glory, he shuffled away in ignominy.

It is a complex business, football adulation. Players who were once heroes can become sudden villains. Defeat colours everything. But the difference in James’s experience is this: her team won. Sure, she will be absent from their next fixture in the Quarter-final. And if Fifa decides her offence amounted to violent conduct, she will be banned for three matches, thus missing the rest of the tournament. Her absence will undoubtedly be significant. But it is not yet terminal. England could still lift the cup. And if they do, instead of tarnishing her for years to come, her offence will become a mere footnote. No wonder there was no one more relieved in Brisbane this morning than Lauren James.