Chloe Kelly added another memorable moment to her Lionesses career as her spot-kick secured 10-woman England a place in the World Cup quarter-finals after a dramatic shoot-out with Nigeria in Brisbane. It was not all elation for England, however, after Lauren James was shown a straight red card for a stamp on Michelle Alozie following a VAR review late in the second half which could see her banned for the remainder of this tournament. Midfielder Keira Walsh returned for the first time since she was carried off the pitch on a stretcher in England’s 1-0 group-stage victory against Denmark and played 120 minutes of a dramatic contest. England were far from their best and were lucky not to exit the tournament in 90 minutes, but dug deep to ensure the match finished goalless after extra time, with Euro 2022 hero Kelly firing in the decisive penalty. The European champions largely remained camped inside Nigeria’s half for the first 10 minutes, before the Super Falcons began to build momentum. Georgia Stanway’s stumble led to their first real chance as Uchenna Kanu directed a header at the England goal but was blocked at the last by Millie Bright’s clearance. Randy Waldrum’s side threatened again as former England youth international Ashleigh Plumptre came within inches of an opener when her attempt clipped the underside of the crossbar and it took a brilliant save by Earps to stop the ex-Leicester defender soon after. The Lionesses were then initially awarded a penalty when Rasheedat Ajibade initially appeared to shove Daly inside the area, Stanway convinced enough she started stepping up to the spot, but the decision was reversed after Honduran referee Melissa Borjas was sent to check the pitchside monitor. James, largely subdued after her two-goal, three-assist performance against China, then saw an effort sail over. It was the Super Falcons who attacked first in the second half, Kanu’s nodded effort catching the woodwork, while England struggled to find the same fluidity they displayed in their 6-1 rout of China – a side ranked 26 places above Nigeria. Waldman brought on his most fearsome weapon in Bronze and Walsh’s Barcelona team-mate Asisat Oshoala, the five-time African women’s footballer of the year with whom they lifted the Champions League trophy in June. Stanway was next to try to get a misfiring England going with a delivery from the right to find Daly, who volleyed wide. England were lucky when Kanu spun a header past the right post as they searched for a solution to Nigeria’s relentless physicality before a fine stop from Chiamaka Nnadozie firstly prevented Daly nodding in from six yards and then Russo from the left. It was the Nigerian fans whose voices echoed loudest as they earned another free kick and continued to pile the pressure on England. Things went from bad to worse for Wiegman’s side when another call to the monitor ruled James had deliberately stamped on the back of Nigeria defender Alozie and she was sent off with three minutes of normal time remaining. “Eye of the Tiger” blasted over the speakers as the Lionesses willed themselves to fight through extra time a player light and again breathed a sigh of relief when Alozie should have given Nigeria the lead but missed a big chance at the near post. England doggedly defended their way through as Wiegman made just her second substitution, swapping Lauren Hemp for Bethany England at the 106-minute mark after replacing Russo with Kelly after 88 minutes. Earps kept the Lionesses in it when she calmly caught Oshoala’s effort from inside the penalty area as Walsh’s comeback finally came to a close and the Lionesses calmly closed out extra time to ensure their World Cup destiny would be decided by spot kicks. Stanway, whose penalty was the only goal in England’s 1-0 opening victory against Haiti, stepped up first but this time fired wide of the left post, reprieved when Desire Oparanozie sent hers to the exact same spot. Beth England, who did not play a single minute of England’s Euro 2022 triumph last summer, pumped her fist in the air when she fired past Nnadozie and Alozie skied her effort as the Lionesses turned to Rachel Daly. The Women’s Super League Golden Boot winner gave the Nigerian keeper no chance with a perfectly-placed penalty to the top corner before Ajibade beat Earps. Greenwood and Christy Ucheibe both converted and so it was up to Kelly, who, with another significant contribution on the global stage, fired England through. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Dejan Kulusevski vows to ‘do everything’ to keep Harry Kane at Tottenham Raphael Varane says players’ opinions ignored over ‘damaging’ new guidelines Mohamed Salah ‘remains committed’ to Liverpool amid Saudi Arabia links

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The dinosaurs may have been extinct for more than 65 million years but scientists have suggested that they could still exist as aliens on other planets. Researched published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society suggests that dinosaurs might not only be on other planets but that we could also find them. The study suggests that if scientists researched compounds that are not currently on Earth but ones that were around during the age of the dinosaurs then it may yield some results. One key element that scientists believe could unlock what would be a groundbreaking discovery is oxygen. The levels of oxygen on Earth at the moment are around 21 per cent but during the time of dinosaurs it was higher at 30 per cent. This, in theory, allowed the dinosaurs to flourish and rule the planet for millions of years. The study suggests that if similar levels of oxygen can be discovered on faraway planets then the conditions could be right for alien like dinosaurs to exist. The study's co-author Lisa Kaltenegger said in a statement: "Modern Earth's light fingerprint has been our template for identifying potentially habitable planets, but there was a time when this fingerprint was even more pronounced — better at showing signs of life." She adds: "This gives us hope that it might be just a little bit easier to find signs of life — even large, complex life — elsewhere in the cosmos." One clue that could unlock this discovery which scientists are looking for are signs of a Phanerozoic stage on a planet which would allow creatures like dinosaurs to evolve. The study's lead author, Rebecca Payne of Cornell University, said: "The Phanerozoic is just the most recent 12 per cent or so of Earth's history, but it encompasses nearly all of the time in which life was more complex than microbes and sponges. These light fingerprints are what you'd search for elsewhere if you were looking for something more advanced than a single-celled organism." If they are successful in finding these conditions on other planets then Kaltenegger believes it could lead to the discovery of dinosaurs that have never been found on Earth. "Hopefully we'll find some planets that happen to have more oxygen than Earth right now because that will make the search for life just a little bit easier," she said. "And, who knows, maybe there are other dinosaurs waiting to be found." Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

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