SYDNEY: Lauren Hemp and Alessia Russo did the damage late on in Sydney as England shattered Australian dreams Wednesday with a clinical 3-1 win to set up a Women’s World Cup final against Spain.
The Lionesses had stumbled at the same stage twice before but the European champions made no mistake this time to silence most of the 75,000 crowd and reach the final for the first time.
They took the lead nine minutes before the break with Manchester United’s Ella Toone unleashing a rocket just inside the box with the outside of her boot.
A fit-again Sam Kerr, starting for the first time this tournament, hit back for the home side just after the hour with a world-class goal that set the game on fire, picking up the ball and letting fly from 30 yards after a weaving run.
It sparked ecstatic scenes but the crowd were silenced just eight minutes later when Hemp muscled her way into the box and stabbed into the corner, before Russo put the icing on the cake with four minutes left of normal time.
“We achieved the final and it’s unbelievable. It feels like we won it but we didn’t win it (the World Cup), we just won this game,” said England coach Sarina Wiegman.
“We played a hard game, but again we found a way to win. We have been talking about ruthlessness and this team has ruthlessness, whether it is up front or in defence.”
England now face a final on Sunday, also at Stadium Australia, against a dangerous Spanish side that beat Sweden 2-1 in the last four, with a new name to be engraved on the trophy.
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