Premier League decide on moving Arsenal game that clashes with England match
The Premier League will NOT move Arsenal's clash with Nottingham Forest on Saturday, despite the game clashing with England's Women's World Cup quarter-final.
The Lionesses will face either Colombia or Jamaica at Stadium Australia in the last eight, having squeezed past Nigeria in the first knockout round on Monday. But fans will be forced to choose between watching either Sarina Wiegman's side, or Forest's visit to the Gunners.
England's game will kick off at 11.30am, with Arsenal getting their Premier League season underway in a 12.30pm kick-off. That led to some calls for top-flight chiefs to shift the kick-off time at the Emirates Stadium to allow supporters to follow England's progress.
According to BBC Sport, those calls have fallen on deaf ears, with the Premier League refusing to shift the Arsenal game, which will be televised live on TNT Sports. Viewership figures may be hit though, with fans able to watch the England game live on ITV.
The Lionesses will have to wait until Tuesday morning before discovering their opponents for their last-eight clash. Colombia's match with Jamaica kicks off at 9am, with the winner progressing to face England this weekend.
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Wiegman's side had a lucky escape against Nigeria, with the African side putting the Lionesses under immense pressure. Despite seeing Lauren James get sent off for a mindless stamp late on, England were able to take the game to penalties.
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Fans will be forced to choose between England's quarter-final and Arsenal's clash with Nottingham Forest on Saturday (Jose Breton/Pics Action/NurPhoto via Getty Images)Two Nigerian players missed the target with their attempts, before Chloe Kelly smashed home the winning penalty. It was a result that left Wiegman relieved rather than overjoyed, as she insisted England were forced to deal with a tough opponent.
“I don’t think I can be any more proud than I am right now. It was a very tough game, with totally different phases, with having a setback and changed mindsets straight away, playing with ten," she told BBC Radio 5 Live.
"Then, going into the penalty shootout which we prepared for of course, and then the execution. It’s just unbelievable, we never give up and we found a way. I’m so proud of the team.
“I think the game was equal. As we expected Nigeria had good organisation, were very physical, very transitional and quick, and that’s what they showed. After Lauren James was sent off they had to make the game and that was hard for them you could tell.
“It starts with having confidence, and it starts with having a plan, having trained on it and knowing what we were going to do - that’s what we had. We didn’t just do that yesterday, it was overtime, we already started that in April and last year at the EUROs.
“Everyone knew what her task was, but this was the highest possible pressure, to take a penalty, and how we did that was really good. We showed ourselves in the Finalissima already so that gave confidence, and beside that, every player had her own plan and as a team we had a plan.”
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