The Australia women's national team captured the hearts of a nation in the best run they ever had in the Women's World Cup.
Unfortunately, against England, the Cinderella story struck midnight.
The crowd of 75,784 at Stadium Australia, mostly filled with yellow jerseys of the Matildas, was silenced as the Lionesses took out the co-hosts, 3-1.
In their third appearance in the semifinals in as many Women's World Cups, England made it through at last after dropping their last two semifinals matches to Japan and the United States, facing Spain in the Final looking to add another world title after winning last year's European Championship.
Had Australia won, it would have been the first time since 1999 that a country hosting the World Cup, either men's or women's, would be playing for the title. That year, the United States defeated China in the Final.
Ella Toone gave England the early lead in the 36th minute and they never trailed. Alessia Russo settled a ball that was up in the air from Lauren Hemp, and in the box, Hemp let the pass go to the open Toone, who fired a quick strike from the left side to the top right corner, out of the reach of Australia goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold.
All-time, England has not lost when scoring first in the Women's World Cup, going 16-2-0 (W-D-L) in 18 matches.
Toone also became the first England player, from either the men's or women's teams, to score in a quarterfinal, semifinal, and Final of major international tournaments. Along with scoring in this semifinals match against Australia, she scored in the quarterfinals and Final of last year's Euros against Spain and Germany, respectively.
Australia pushed early in the second half, opening with 57% possession in the first six minutes, with some of their best attacking sequences. While it didn't pay off then, as the possession numbers tilted back to England's favor by the 59th minute, Australia got the moment they were waiting for in the 63rd minute.
After Russo had the ball knocked away, Katrina Gorry found a racing Sam Kerr on a 2-on-2, with Caitlin Foord opposite her. Kerr blasted the ball from long range, and though it took a slight bounce off Millie Bright, she beat goalkeeper Mary Earps for the tying goal, sending Stadium Australia into a frenzy.
This was Kerr's sixth Women's World Cup goal. She is second all-time in her country's history, behind only Lisa De Vanna (seven). It reignited the hope that the co-hosts can play for the title.
But England answered right back eight minutes later on an awkward defending sequence by Australia. Defenders Clare Hunt and Ellie Carpenter, and goalkeeper Arnold were around the area, but a miscommunication allowed Hemp to score the go-ahead goal in firing bottom right corner. Arnold didn't know whether to come out of her net for the ball, and that left her on an island.
The Australians were going in full-on desperation mode, looking to tie the game. Kerr had several great opportunities on a go-ahead or tying goal, repeatedly testing England's back line, especially with eight minutes remaining. Unfortunately, she missed what was her best chance of the night, being set up with a feed from just outside the box from Mary Fowler, and the header just sailed over the net.
The Matildas pushed everything they had in their tank in the final third, with crosses getting centered to the box, and Earps getting repeatedly tested. Kerr made run after run on the English center backs.
But the Lionesses all but sealed it at the 86th minute, with Hemp, racing right down the middle of the field, finding Russo, who broke free for the game-sealing goal, firing to the far post side.
Early on, the Lionesses had four of their players (Russo, Hemp, Toone, and Georgia Stanway) spend most of their time on the Australia half, plus three others (Lucy Bronze, Keira Walsh, and Rachel Daly) on the midfield line. England dominated possession for the majority of the match, constantly getting these seven players on the attack.
That was evidenced with an early chance for the English, with Greenwood left-footing a deep ball to the box to a rushing Stanway, and her early shot 8:28 into the match was stopped as Arnold stayed in the crease at her right side.
Lionesses head coach Sarina Wiegman decided to employ a 3-5-2 formation, which takes away more space on the inside channels, where Kerr loves to run behind defenses.
England imposed their will physically on her early, with a tackle at the 10th minute, though one can ask if it was part of their strategy on playing physical on an elite athlete who is still recovering from a calf injury, so her flashy plays have been limited throughout the tournament.
Nonetheless, it's an early yellow card for Greenwood, but it's her first, along with Chloe Kelly receiving her first yellow card late in the match, so England won't have to worry about losing anyone for the Final.
Australia head coach Tony Gustavsson played it safe with Kerr defensively. He asked of her to go near the defensive circle to erase any potential counterattacks the other way, which made sense given that she is limited, but the strategy asked for more of the other nine outfield players, complicating the pressure.
England continued to cause havoc in the box, controlling the ball for 69% of the time in the firs t20 minutes and had the first six shots of the match.
While the Aussies did make a push in the 32nd minute, Carpenter's cross sailed over everyone's heads. They also nearly responded two minutes after the Toone goal, with Katrina Gorry firing the ball from distance, and both Kerr and Fowler needed to duck to have the shot get on target all the way through, where it was caught by Earps.
Though it was Wiemgan's decision to get the 3-5-2 formation against Australia that set the tone for the Lionesses' win. The center back trio of Alex Greenwood, captain Millie Bright, and Jess Carter held the Matildas in check, from the 478-332 advantage in total passes to the 58% possession.
England, even when they are without several of their players whether it be due to injury or suspension, were arguably the most complete team Australia faced to this point.
Gustavsson said that England were heavy favorites heading into the match, and that's not an exaggeration or excuse because that was ultimately true.
But it's not that Australia didn't have any chances to win. They had several great chances to tie the game at 2-2 and send it to extra time, twice from Kerr in the final 10 minutes, and once where Earps had to rush to prevent Emily van Egmond from knocking the ball into the net.
Though Russo put the match away in the 86th minute, this run will forever be remembered in Australian football/soccer history. It could mark the beginning of the Matildas arriving as one of the top teams on the international women's stage.
"It's been absolutely incredible to be on home soil for a World Cup," said Gorry. "The shift in Australian football has just been incredible. We've loved every minute of it. Australia, we love you. I hope we've made you proud. There's still so much to go for. Don't jump off the bandwagon now, keep on coming and I'm sure we'll make you proud."
The success the Matildas had in uniting the country through the tournament has now sparked the question whether or not to call Australia a "football nation."
Traditionally, Australian rules football and rugby league dominate the sports news Down Under, but the Matildas have set ratings records rivaling those of Cathy Freeman's gold medal-winning 400m run in the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney.
Four years ago was the "Dare to Shine" slogan in the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup in France. But "Beyond Greatness" was the rallying cry for the players to rise up to the occasion in the biggest stages to show what they have got to the world.
In the quarterfinals, what felt like an eternity of a match ended with Cortnee Vine sliding her penalty kick in the 10th round under France goalkeeper Solène Durand, and everyone at Lang Park went bonkers.
It went beyond everyone celebrating in Brisbane. It was around the entire country, TVs, computers, phones, watch parties, AFL stadiums, and even an airplane flight where everyone, save for one person watching Lord of the Rings, where the Aussies showed their love for the Matildas.
Whether they place third or fourth in their upcoming third-place game against Sweden, Australia will leave behind a lasting legacy from this year's World Cup, and it will only be remembered in the country for years to come.
After that, they will shift their focus to the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, where there will be a lot of opportunities to build on a bigger legacy for women's football/soccer in Australia.
England, meanwhile, embraced the hostility of the packed crowd of gold and green. Wiegman, having coached England to a championship in the Euros last summer, made as few changes as possible to her lineup, so there is a big decision on Lauren James, who will return from her two-match suspension in the Final against Spain.
Toone has stepped up for James, setting the tone with a first half goal in this match. While she is not at the same caliber as James, she's a big-game player who can help her teams out in key moments.
England could have easily lost to Nigeria after the James stamp, but they held on with 10 players and pulled out the victory in the penalty shootout.
Interestingly, this is Wiegman's fourth major tournament final in a row. Outside of the coming World Cup Final and last year's Euros for England, she coached the Netherlands to a 2019 Women's World Cup Final, where they fell to the United States, 2-0. She also led the Netherlands to a win in the Euros on their home soil in 2017.
One of the best coaches in the world in the sport, she delivered another masterful gameplan for her girls. For every scare the Lionesses encountered, they found a way to tighten their hold.
It was about the nonstop pressure that kept the chances coming, and by how they were winding down their clock. They used the same tactics that helped them close out their match against Germany in last year's Euros Final.
In the same stadium where Jonny Wilkinson won the 2003 Rugby World Cup for England against Australia, the Lionesses moved the ball to areas of the pitch where they got a lot of spacing on the Matildas, and they effectively ran out the clock in keeping the ball.
"There was no fear in the squad; we weren't nervous, we just wanted to play our football," said Hemp, who was named the Player of the Match. "Even when we were in the backfoot in the last few minutes, we showed calmness and composure."
Up next for them is Spain, the very team that England beat in extra time in the quarterfinals of last year's Euros. Showing no fear in their eyes heading into the match against Jorge Vilda's La Roja, they have a gameplan in looking to get the job done.
The third-place match between Sweden and Australia will be on August 19th at 4 AM EDT, while the Final between Spain and England is the day after, at 6 AM EDT. It will be the first all-European Final since 2003 and the third since 1995. Germany defeated Sweden in 2003 on a golden goal, while Norway defeated Germany in 1995. The winner of the Finals will join Germany as the only teams to have won both the men's and women's World Cups.
As is the case with the previous games of the tournament, FOX has the American telecast—with Telemundo carrying the Spanish-speaking cast for the U.S.—TSN has the Canadian telecast, and Televisa has the Mexican telecast. In Europe, BBC One and ITV1 will have the broadcast in the United Kingdom, while RTVE, in the La 1 channel, will broadcast the match in Spain. Fans in Australia will be able to watch the match on Optus Sport.
Scoring
England, 36': Ella Toone [1], right footed shot from left side of the box to top right corner. 1-0 England
Australia, 63': Sam Kerr [1], right footed shot from outside the box to top left corner, assisted by Katrina Gorry [1] following a fast break. 1-1 Tie
England, 71': Lauren Hemp [3], left footed shot from center of the box to bottom right corner, assisted by Millie Bright [1]. 2-1 England
England, 86': Alessia Russo [3], right footed shot from right side of the box to bottom left corner, assisted by Lauren Hemp [1] with a through ball following a fast break. 3-1 England
Substitutions
Australia, 72': Cortnee Vine replaces Hayley Raso.
Australia, 81': Emily van Egmond replaces Clare Polkinghorne.
England, 87': Chloe Kelly replaces Alessia Russo.
Australia, 88': Alex Chidiac replaces Katrina Gorry.
England, 90': Niamh Charles replaces Ella Toone.
Disciplinary
England, 10': Alex Greenwood is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
England, 90'+5': Chloe Kelly is shown the yellow card.
Team Stats
Possession: England 58% advantage
Shots: Australia 12, England 15
On Target: Australia 4, England 5
Fouls: Australia 4, England 11
Yellow Cards: Australia 0, England 2
Red Cards: Australia 0, England 0
Offsides: Australia 1, England 0
Corner Kicks: Australia 6, England 5
Saves: Australia 2, England 3
Miscellaneous
Venue: Stadium Australia (Accor Stadium)
Location: Sydney, Australia
Attendance: 75,784 (Capacity: 82,500)
Referee: Tori Penso (United States)
Commenti