England beat Australia 3-1 to meet Spain in World Cup final
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Sydney: England crushed Australia 3-1 on Wednesday to go to the Women's World Cup final against Spain with Lauren Hemp and Alessia Russo causing damage late in Sydney.
The Lionesses had twice faltered at the same point, but this time, the European champs made no mistakes and made it to the final.
Ella Toone of Manchester United fired a rocket right inside the box with the outside of her boot to give them the lead nine minutes before halftime.
Sam Kerr responded for the host team in the second half with a goal of extraordinary quality, scoring for the first time this tournament while making her first start. Kerr picked up the ball and fired from 30 yards after a weaving run.
The 75,784-person partisan crowd burst into joyful scenes, AFP reported.
But eight minutes later, Hemp forced her way into the box and stabbed the corner, before Russo added the cherry on top with four minutes to go.
With a new name to be inscribed on the trophy, England will now play in a thrilling final on Sunday at the same stadium as Australia against a formidable Spanish team that defeated Sweden 2-1 in the semifinals.
In 2015 and 2019, England was in a similar situation and lost both games 2-1. Up until this point, their highest World Cup performance was a third-place finish.
Despite losing, Australia had their best World Cup ever, and they still have Saturday's third-place match versus Sweden to play.
