SYDNEY — As the penalty shootout was about to get under way, the England players stood in a line together just in front of the halfway line. Nigeria had made them wait, taking an extra minute or so to group. But England were focused, anchored in what they call “the process.”
It was muscle memory to position themselves there, slightly in advance of the opposition, standing shoulder-to-shoulder as a collective unit, just like they’d prepared for in these circumstances. Those taking their penalties took a couple of extra seconds to compose themselves before running up, remembering the advice they’d been given. Lucy Bronze stood to the right of the England line, waving her right arm, seemingly to try to catch the eye of Nigeria goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie. Mary Earps, the England keeper, stared back at her teammates from the goal line, communicating through fist pumps and nods.
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The Nigeria players were a bit more disjointed — two were on the ground, a couple stood forward of the halfway line,…
