Sydney was the venue for a semi-final fixture which captured the attention of two nations who were vying to reach their first World Cup final. England had only faced a tournament host once before, when they met Canada at the quarter-finals in 2015, while Australia were in uncharted territory, having reached this stage of the competition for the very first time.

It was a battle of the Blues between the captains, with Sam Kerr and Millie Bright wearing the armband for their respective countries. Jess Carter continued alongside Bright in England's defence, where the pair had been magnificent to date, while Niamh Charles and Hannah Hampton were among the substitutes. Lauren James served the last of a two-match suspension.

Lionesses prowl

It was an electric start to proceedings and, with less than 10 minutes on the clock, both sides had glaring opportunities to open the scoring and lay down a marker early in the contest. Kerr was denied by a combination of Mary Earps and the offside flag before Mackenzie Arnold came to Australia’s rescue to thwart Georgia Stanway from close-range.

Chances on goal dried up but the game was being driven by the atmosphere inside the stadium with half an hour played between these famous rivals. Both teams enjoyed spells of possession, with England trumping the completed passes tally, while both looked threatening on the counter-attack, a clinical touch in front of goal the only thing lacking.

Everything changed 10 minutes before the interval when Ella Toone gave the Lionesses the lead in spectacular fashion. The midfielder ghosted into the penalty area and expertly dispatched a first-time wonder strike into the top-right corner of the net, silencing the home crowd and giving England a slender lead at the break.

Final hurdle

Sarina Wiegman’s side were just 45 minutes away from their first World Cup final, while Australia knew that the next goal in the game would be vital as they looked to revive their dreams of reaching the final of a home tournament. Lauren Hemp forced Arnold into a smart save, resulting in a corner that was delivered by Alex Greenwood and headed narrowly wide by Bright.

Just after the hour mark, Kerr continued her habit of rising to the occasion in big moments when she drew the Matildas level with a wonderful strike. The Australia skipper picked the ball up and ran at Blues teammate Bright before unleashing a dipping effort, which evaded Earps at full stretch to reignite the contest and spark the home crowd into life.

However, they were to be silenced once more when England scored twice through Hemp and Alessia Russo to break Australian hearts. Charles entered the fray in the final stages and helped England see out the victory, booking their place in the World Cup final, where they will face Spain in Sydney on Sunday for a shot at world domination.

What’s next?

Australia will meet Sweden in the third place play-off match in Brisbane on Saturday 19 August, with kick-off set for 9am (UK time).

England go head-to-head with Spain in the showpiece World Cup final in Sydney on Sunday 20 August, with kick-off scheduled for 11am (UK time).

Our World Cup stars will return to domestic action when the Women’s Super League season begins in October. Click here to view our ticket bundles and find out how to secure your seats for 2023/24!