England are just one win away from reaching the World Cup final – and an opportunity to follow last year’s Euros triumph with the biggest prize of all.
However, to make it they will have to overcome Australia, who have been one of the most impressive teams at the tournament.
Co-hosts Australia, ranked 10th in the world, have knocked out France and Denmark on their way to the semis and boast Sam Kerr, one of the world’s best players, among their ranks – though she is being eased back from injury.
When is England vs Australia?
England vs Australia is on Wednesday 16 August at Stadium Australia in Sydney, kicking off at 11am BST.
The game will be shown live on BBC One, BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website, with the programme beginning at 10am.
What can England expect from Australia?
Sarina Wiegman says that she will clue up on the sporting history of England and Australia ahead of their semi-final against the co-hosts, after admitting that she might have under-appreciated the intensity of the rivalry.
“I just think it’s going to be really big but now I’ve had a couple of questions about that so it’s probably going to be bigger than I imagined it was!” she said.
“I will speak to my players and staff to see what that rivalry is then. We have had such a warm welcome here and really enjoyed our time here in Australia. I actually really like the people here but that doesn’t mean there’s no rivalry so we will see on Wednesday.
“We know it’s an away game. Let’s try to turn it around as inspiration for us. We try to focus on our task, what we want to do and how we want to play. Of course we want to play our game and everyone has a task in and out of possession. That’s what we talk about – football.”
Australia goalkeeper Lydia Williams attempted to downplay the rivalry, telling reporters: “I think it’s just another game.”
She added: “At the end of the day we know how to shift focus to representing and performing. It’s a significant game, obviously we are in the semi-finals, but it’s just another opponent for us.”
Australia’s captain, Kerr, is her country’s leading goal-scorer of either gender, but has not yet started a match in the global showpiece after injuring her calf pre-tournament, making her much-anticipated return as a substitute in Australia’s 2-0 last-16 victory over Denmark. She may return to the starting line-up against England today.
Although the Chelsea forward is, at least in Australia, the poster-woman for this tournament, Wiegman insisted: “Australia is not just Sam Kerr. Yes, we have a plan [if she starts]. She can play and she can start on the bench, so that’s the situation. Of course she is a threat, she’s a very good player, so a lot of respect.
“But there is more than Sam Kerr, because at the end it is always a team performance. When the team does really well an individual can do even better. That’s the same for Australia and it’s the same for England.
“There is a lot of pressure on her because everyone expects things from her. I think Australia have grown in the tournament too, they had some difficult situations they had to come back from and they did really well. We expect a very strong Australia…”
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