Even though Matildas scorer Sam Kerr scored a great goal, England beat Australia 3-1 on Wednesday to reach their first Women’s World Cup final. The co-hosts’ fairy-tale run came to an end.
Ella Toone, an attacking midfielder, gave England the lead in the first half. After halftime, captain Kerr, who was making her first start of the event, tied the game with a stunning goal, and Stadium Australia went wild with joy.
But England took the lead again after Lauren Hemp scored, and Alessia Russo made the game over soon before the end.
England has lost in the semi-finals of the last two World Cups. They will play Spain on Sunday, hoping to add a world title to the European Championship they won last year.
The team led by Sarina Wiegman had a clear plan to get rough with Australia. They committed nine fouls in the first half, taking away their opponents’ chances to score.
In the 36th minute, Russo got to the edge of the box and passed the ball back to Toone, who smashed it into the top right corner for England’s first goal of the event.
Australia started the second half in a much better mood and started pushing England higher up the field. They were looking for a historic moment like when Cathy Freeman won the 400-meter race at the 2000 Olympics in the same place.
In the 63rd minute, Kerr got the ball in her own half, ran toward the goal, and shot an impossible rocket from 25 yards out into the top left corner, past the jumping Mary Earps.
Australia fans went crazy when their star player finally scored at this event. This gave them new hope that Tony Gustavsson’s team could still win.
But in less than 10 minutes, the hosts were once again behind.
Ellie Carpenter, a Matildas defender, couldn’t handle a long ball over the top from Millie Bright, so it was easy for Hemp to finish into the bottom corner and give England the lead back.
In the last few minutes of the game, the 23-year-old was involved again. He made a great turn on the halfway line, ran toward the goal, and set up Russo, who fired a low shot into the far corner to put England in the final.