England (Common Wealth) _ England has made more history by reaching their first Women’s World Cup final, defeating Australia 3-1 to set up a match against Spain on Sunday.
The pre-match walk focused on who would be considered the underdog – the Euro 2022 champions or tournament co-hosts – as well as the two countries’ rich sporting histories.
All of this culminated in an entertaining semi-final at Stadium Australia. England drew first blood when the Matildas conceded their first World Cup goal since the second group game against Nigeria – a span of well over five hours. Ella Toone (36) curled in a lovely attempt.
Sam Kerr, Australia’s talismanic captain, returned to the XI and had her inevitable say in the 63rd minute, slamming home a magnificent 25-yard shot.
Soon after, though, England’s tournament pedigree began to shine through, with Lauren Hemp (71) putting the Lionesses back ahead before Alessia Russo (86) secured their spot in Sunday’s showpiece final against Spain.
While co-hosts Australia, who had a tremendous home crowd in Sydney, can no longer win the tournament, they can finish third in the play-off against Sweden on Saturday. England manager Sarina Wiegman was virtually astonished after the game, telling BBC Sport: “We made the final! It’s unbelievable; we appear to have won [the game].
Sarina Wiegman, England’s manager, was virtually speechless after the game, telling reporters, “We achieved the final! It’s fantastic; it feels like we won [the tournament], which we didn’t; we just won this game – in an amazing stadium, on the road, with the manner we played – it was a difficult game, but we found a way to win again.
Australia had a tremendous tournament, and they grew into it. They experienced several hiccups, they had to win their final group-stage game, and then they improved. I just told [assistant manager] Arjan that the opportunity to reach two finals as a coach or a player is truly unique. I never take anything for granted, yet it’s as if I’m living in a fantasy world, he told.
Kerr wasted no time in demonstrating her talent, racing through on goal in the seventh minute. Mary Earps, who dived down low as the offside flag was hoisted, saved her eventual shot. Mackenzie Arnold, on the other hand, continued her outstanding tournament, preventing Georgia Stanway as she attempted to slot home at the near post.
As the half progressed, the two teams continued to trade chances. Toone freed Russo inside the area, but he fired a shot off the crossbar. After that, an Australia corner found Haley Raso unmarked near the back post, but she likewise blasted wide.
