Lauren Hemp and Alessia Russo did the damage late on in Sydney yesterday as England shattered Australian dreams with a clinical 3-1 win to set up a FIFA Women’s World Cup final against Spain.
The Lionesses had stumbled at the same stage twice before, but the European champions made no mistake this time to reach the final for the first time.
England took the lead nine minutes before the break with Ella Toone unleashing a rocket just inside the box with the outside of her boot.
Photo: AP
A fit-again Sam Kerr, starting for the first time this tournament, hit back for the home side in the second half with a world-class goal that set the game on fire, picking up the ball and letting fly after a weaving run.
It sparked ecstatic scenes from the 75,784-strong partisan crowd, but they were silenced eight minutes later when Hemp muscled her way into the box and stabbed into the corner, before Russo put the icing on the cake with four minutes left.
England now face a blockbuster final on Sunday at the same Stadium Australia against a dangerous Spanish side.
The Lionesses had been in this position before, in 2015 and 2019, losing 2-1 on both occasions, with a third-place finish their best World Cup before now.
England defender Lucy Bronze, twice a losing semi-finalist, was elated after the match.
“The one thing I’ve always wanted to do is get to a World Cup final,” Bronze told the BBC.
“After two times of such disappointment, I can’t believe it,” Bronze said. “We played how we wanted to, we were determined, resilient. We knew the crowd would be crazy and we talked about silencing them and at the end we did that.”
“We all dreamed of being in the final, all our family and friends have booked to stay here until then because they all believed in us. It’s been amazing to play against Australia, in Australia, what a fantastic tournament they had but we’re in the final,” she said.
Despite losing, Australia have enjoyed their best World Cup ever, with a third-placed playoff against Sweden on Saturday still to play.
Both sides were nervy in the opening exchanges, but Australia settled and a lofted ball through the middle from Katrina Gorry left Kerr with just goalkeeper Mary Earps to beat, but the Manchester United stopper repelled the shot, with the offside flag later raised.
At the other end, goalkeeper MacKenzie Arnold rescued Australia minutes later, deflecting Georgia Stanway’s strike with her legs as the game opened up.
Kerr was in the thick of the early action and England ruthlessly looked to close her down with some heavy challenges, one of them earning Alex Greenwood a yellow card, but as England grew in confidence they began controlling the midfield battle.
The breakthrough came in the 36th minute with Toone arrowing her shot into the top right corner after Hemp pulled the ball back from the touch line.
With 45 minutes to save their tournament, Australia frantically pressed forward as the second half got under way, and it paid dividends when Kerr’s wonder strike propelled them back into contention.
However, England were unmoved, and when Ellie Carpenter misjudged a long ball into the box, Hemp hustled her way through to score, before Russo finished calmly with her right foot to seal the win.
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