Violent behavior makes British female players likened to Rooney and Beckham

In the 85th minute of England's match against Nigeria yesterday, Lauren James couldn't keep her composure when stepping on Michelle Alozie. The referee didn't notice it at first, but VAR got involved, causing striker 21 to receive a direct red card.

The British press simultaneously compared this situation with the mistakes of Wayne Rooney and David Beckham in the past. The Guardian newspaper played the word "Beckhamesque", to compare James' mistake with his senior. On Twitter, England fans commented on James' behavior: "It's Wayne Rooney again", while former striker Gary Lineker described "it was a crazy Beckham-style moment".

In the quarter-finals of the 1998 World Cup, Beckham, then 23, received a red card after retaliating against Diego Simeone in the match against Argentina. In the quarter-finals of the 2006 World Cup, 21-year-old Wayne Rooney was also sent off for kicking Portugal's Ricardo Carvalho.

The three mistakes that have many similarities with the players who are the brightest young talents in England, all occurred in a moment of loss of composure when the home team competed in the knockout round of the World Cup. Besides, England also had to shoot penalty shootouts in all three matches. Lauren James was luckier than the two seniors when the British women's team defeated Nigeria, and Beckham and Rooney became England's criminals after the tournament.

In the 2023 Women's World Cup, James scored three and assisted three of England's eight goals. The younger sister of defender Reece James of the England and Chelsea men's teams grew up in the Chelsea youth academy before playing for Arsenal, Man Utd, and then returning to "The Blues".

After the action, the striker born in 2001 anticipated abusive comments, immediately restricting commenters on the Instagram account with 568,000 followers. In addition to the legal two-match ban, James could receive an additional punishment from FIFA for his violent behavior and soon bid farewell to the 2023 Women's World Cup.

England women's coach Sarina Wiegman said James apologized for the immature situation in terms of experience. "It was a moment of emotional loss for a split second at the end of the game," Wiegman said. "It was a big lesson but of course she didn't mean to hurt anyone."

In the quarter-finals, England will face the winner of the Colombia vs Jamaica pair this afternoon 8/8.