Ruthless England ruins Australia and Kerr’s big party

For Australia, England was simply a step too far. For the Lionesses, history beckons

Australia’s fairytale run at their home World Cup is over, thanks to a classy and tenacious England side that wasn’t phased by a stunning Sam Kerr equalizer in the second half of Wednesday’s semifinal.

After a 3-1 win, the Lionesses will play in their first women’s World Cup final on Sunday, where they will take on Spain in the first all-European affair since Germany beat Sweden in the 2003 final.

For Australia, beating the Lionesses proved one step too far in a World Cup run that saw the entire country unite behind them, including a packed house at Stadium Australia in Sydney on Wednesday.

That crowd was silenced with 10 minutes to play in the first half, thanks to Ella Toone’s inch-perfect strike from inside the box.

England was threatening to put the game out of reach in the second half before Kerr delivered the moment that her entire country had been waiting for all tournament.

Sidelined for the entire group stage with a calf injury, the superstar forward finally made her first start of the tournament against England. Midway through the second half, Kerr set the stadium alight with one of the goals of the tournament.

With the crowd and momentum on the Matildas’ side, England could have been rattled. Instead, the brilliant duo of Lauren Hemp and Alessia Russo took the game over.

Hemp put the Lionesses back in front just eight minutes after Kerr’s equalizer, taking advantage of a mix-up in the back after a long ball to finish past Mackenzie Arnold.

And if the Matildas harbored any hopes of a comeback, those were extinguished when Hemp led a ruthless counterattack and found Russo for the insurance goal.

“They scored and they got momentum and the place erupted, and Hempo’s goal flipped momentum, which was really crucial,” Russo said after the game. “And then to get 3-1, you can kind of settle a bit and see the game out.

“Spain is going to be even tougher, every single game that we’ve come into this tournament has been of the highest level, so we have to be ready, but we’ve been dreaming since we were little girls, so we’re excited.”

For Australia, England was simply a step too far. For the Lionesses, history beckons.

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