The 2023 Women’s World Cup has reached its final week, and England are just two wins away from lifting the trophy.
They beat Colombia 2-1 on Saturday to earn a place in the semi-finals, where they will face Australia.
The Matildas beat France on penalties on Saturday after the game finished 0-0 in extra-time. Australia, who are ranked 10th in the world, have also knocked out Denmark on their way to the semis and boast Sam Kerr, one of the world’s best players, among their ranks.
When is England vs Australia?
England vs Australia is on Wednesday 16 August at Stadium Australia in Sydney, kicking off at 11am BST.
Both games 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 other keeper, Mackenzie Arnold, was player of the match in the quarter-final win over France on Saturday, making a string of saves late in the game and stopping three penalties in a shootout victory that captured the hearts of the host nation.
“I guess the last couple of days have been a pretty big whirlwind for me,” she told reporters on Tuesday.
“Obviously I have not received attention like that, but at the same time I just tend to block it out because I know if I play like s*** tomorrow it could be a whole different attention on me.”
from Football - inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/cSupOwh
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