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By Aaron Hindhaugh • Published: 15 Aug 2023 • 14:00 • 2 minutes read
England Women in training. Credit:Lionesses Twitter
England are looking to book a date on Sunday in the Women’s World Cup final against Spain, but to do so, they must overcome co-hosts Australia.
Wednesday is set to be one of the most tense and mouthwatering games of the entire tournament when England walk into Australia’s backyard and take on, not just the 11 players on the pitch, but an almost full stadium littered with Matilda supporters.
It has been reported that the fans in attendance will be over 90% in favour of Australia, something that Millie Bright believes the Lionesses will be able to thrive off and not be afraid of. They will certainly have to quieten the crowd down in the opening exchanges to have any chance of progressing.
The Lionesses had to do the same last week when they played Colombia when Stadium Australia was completely yellow, although that was a mixture of the South Americans and Australian fans, now, all supporters will be in favour of the Matildas, apart from a small minority of travelling England fans.
Sarina Wiegman is likely to stick with the same starting lineup tomorrow against Australia as they played some of their best football against Colombia, despite going behind for the first time in the World Cup, whereas Australia required the full 120 minutes and 22 penalties across both sides to book their spot in the semi-final.
@hindhaugh98 Day in the life as I saw England reach the semi finals of the Women’s World Cup! Is football coming home? 🦁 #woso #football #worldcup #womensworldcup #wwc #footballtiktok #womensfootballtiktok #australia #matildas #lionesses #wosotiktok #dayinmylife ♬ Call Me A Lioness – Mel C – Hope FC
Day in the life as I saw England reach the semi finals of the Women’s World Cup! Is football coming home? 🦁 #woso #football #worldcup #womensworldcup #wwc #footballtiktok #womensfootballtiktok #australia #matildas #lionesses #wosotiktok #dayinmylife
♬ Call Me A Lioness – Mel C – Hope FC
However, the somewhat held-back secret weapon that Australia have up their sleeve is the dangerous Sam Kerr. Chelsea’s star striker is yet to start a game this tournament, so will be extremely fresh and ready to go against a bitter rival, but also, a goalkeeper she loves playing against in Mary Earps.
On paper and based on the FIFA rankings, England should be the favourites heading into this monster clash, but with a raucous fanbase behind them, and the mental boost of being the only team to have beaten Wiegman’s Lionesses, something that will be playing on the minds of both England and Australia fans, the Matildas will be backing themselves to knock out the tournament favourties.
The Lionesses will be eager to ruin a party atmosphere and bring it all crumbling down on the Matildas, and at Euro Weekly News, we believe they can do it and take one big step toward becoming world champions.
Prediction: England 1-1 Australia (Lionesses win on penalties)
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Qualified and experienced journalist covering all aspects of news and sport. Specialist in both Men's and Women's football with increasing coverage of golf and tennis.
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