The Three Lionesses of England knocked out co-hosts Australia to book their ticket into the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup final for the first time in their history.
Following a fairytale start to their best-ever World Cup campaign, the Matildas set their sights on a victory against the defending European Champions but fell short.
The Three Lionesses, who were previously eliminated at this stage in the last two editions of the Women’s World Cup, qualified for the final following a resounding 1-3 victory on Wednesday.
Sarina Wiegman’s troops opened the scoring in the 36th minute through Ella Toone from an Alessia Russo assist.
The home side enjoyed the lion’s share of the ball but couldn’t quite engineer a response as England held on to a one-goal advantage in the first half.
Following the resumption of the second stanza, Australia continued pushing for the equalizer. In the 63rd minute, Samantha Kerr sent the home crowd into a frenzy after scoring a brilliant equalizer from 25 yards.
When it looked like England were on the cusp of capitulation, Lauren Hemp restored parity with a well-taken strike following a mistake from the Austrian defense after 71 minutes played.
Having already beaten Olympic gold medallists Canada and European heavyweights France at this tournament, it looked like the Matilda’s were going to engineer their way back into the game, but that was not the case.
England put the final nail in the coffin when they scored their third goal of the game in the 86th minute through Alessia Russo with a brilliantly taken effort.
England is ruthless, says Wiegman after making history
Speaking after the match, England’s coach, Wiegman, who is the first coach to lead two different nations to the final of the Women’s World Cup, praised her team, stating that they are ruthless.
I think in this team there is ruthlessness, whether it’s upfront or in defence. We really want to keep the ball out of the net; we really want to win.
England Women’s National Team coach, Sarina Wiegman.
At the previous Women’s World Cup, Wiegman led the Netherlands to the final which they lost 2-0 to the USA.
Since her appointment as the Three Lionesses coach, Wiegman has only lost once in 37 matches and won the Euros.
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Meanwhile, the Matildas will now look to finish the tournament with a bronze medal when they face Sweden on Saturday, while England will clash with Spain in the final.
