At the Women’s World Cup, England captain Millie Bright says “the time has gone when one or two nations shine”.

It is no longer possible for one or two nations to shine at the Women’s World Cup, according to England captain Millie Bright.

Following Lauren James’ red card, the European champions beat Nigeria on penalties in Brisbane on Monday to advance to the quarterfinals.

Both halves saw Nigeria, the nine-time African champions, hit the woodwork.

Bright explained, “That is the growth of the women’s game. We expected it and it tests us.”

A perfect solution for opponents doesn’t exist in football. We have to be better.

That’s what we wanted in women’s soccer. We wanted nations to step up and improve. That’s exactly what you’re seeing at this World Cup.”

In the group stages, Germany lost to Olympic gold medallists Canada and South American champions Brazil.

In the last 16, back-to-back world champions the USA lost to Sweden on penalties.

For the first time ever, South Africa, Jamaica and Morocco advanced to the knockout stages.

Having failed to advance from the group stages in four previous tournaments, Nigeria achieved the same feat in 2019 by reaching the last 16.

“Many people asked, ‘was that hard out there?'” said Bright. Of course, it’s hard – it’s a knockout game in a World Cup – and we knew these games were going to be extremely difficult.

In the end, our character, mentality, and resilience helped us win by giving everything to the badge and representing our fans at home.

It’s all about getting the job done in tournament football. Of course, we all want to do better. Of course, we all want to play the best, but I’m just concerned about getting the job done.

“We are on our way. You could go out at any point in the knockout stages. That’s why we don’t take anything for granted and we respect all our opponents.