England prepares for the World Cup final after beating Australia – Sports – svenska.yle.fi

On Sunday, a new world football champion will be crowned, and only time will tell whether it is Spain or England. Australia had every chance of winning the semi-final, but will have to settle for fighting for the bronze medals.

Eleven English lionesses against 75,000 rabid Australians. This is how the initial situation before the World Cup semi-final between England and Australia was described in the English media.

And of course the sea of ​​spectators at Sydney's boiling Stadium Australia was very yellow when the lion's share of spectators were, understandably, supporting the 'Matildas'.

Although Australia had many chances, England were the better team and when Alessia Russo scored 3-1 in the 86th minute, hopes of winning World Cup gold on home soil were dashed.

Before Rousseau's goal, Australian star Sam Kerr had two great chances to level the game, but it was not to be.

England started brightly

England were clearly the more dangerous team in the first half, although Australia also had chances.

Australian poster name Sam Kerr was shown in a good position early on, which turned out to be offside – as Mary Earps bailed out safely. Haley Raso, after a corner kick, also had a good chance for Australia but her shot was blocked.

England then had their chances through Georgia Stanway and Alessia Russo, but Australia goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold, who had kept a clean sheet for 318 minutes before the semi-final, kept it going.

Yes, more specifically for an additional 35 minutes.

Because in the 36th minute, Arnold, who had no chance, had to succumb to Ella Toone's shot against the right crossbar.

Toone, in the absence of the suspended Lauren James, made his first start in the Championship.

And I did with that honor. It remains to be seen whether James will regain his place in the starting lineup for the Finals, or whether the Toon will take care of it now.

Australian equation

England won shots in the first half 7-1 and controlled the ball 65% to Australia's 35%. The statistics don't lie, England won the half 1-0 and were the better team.

– Very funny half, especially how it started. Very intense and fast paced. The further we got into the game, the more England dominated. It will be interesting to see if there are any changes to the Australia match, Yle football expert Minya Lassas summed up the first half.

Of course there have been changes. Not in the Australia squad, but enough in the team game: more attacking and less cautious.

The result paid off in the 63rd minute when Sam Kerr equalized with a long-range shot from approximately 25 meters away. Her first goal in the World Championship and her 64th goal with the national team.

– What a moment of individual brilliance you show when you score again when you start. In the last five matches in which Sam Kerr participated as a starter in the World Cup, she scored six goals, according to match commentator Sebastian Bachmann.

England took advantage of poor defensive play

Australia did not enjoy the equalizer for long – Lauren Hemp silenced the field with her third goal of the tournament when she won a duel in Australia's penalty area to make it 2-1 in the 71st minute.

A quarter of an hour later, Rousseau's goal came, which finally dashed the hopes of the home team's fans.

England won 3-1 and now have the chance to repeat what Norway and Germany had achieved before: winning World Cup gold as European champions.

England face Spain in the World Cup final on Sunday, while Australia play in the bronze medal match on Saturday against Sweden.