ENGLAND’S heroic Lionesses have sent the country into pandemonium after making history in Australia.
Sarina Wiegman’s side struck gold Down Under as they progressed into England’s first World Cup final since 1966.
Ella Toone’s stunning strike was followed up by cool finishes from Lauren Hemp and Alessia Russo for England to see off co-hosts Australia with a hard-fought 3-1 win.
And the countdown has now begun before Sunday’s final against Spain, who like England, are in the Women’s World Cup final for the first time in their history.
While it was joy for England, Australia were left heartbroken.
Many supporters of the co-hosts at the match in Sydney were in tears as the Matildas crashed out.
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Back at home, England fans were toasting success in pubs up and down the country.
There was chaos at BOXPARK Wembley as supporters, many in face paint, erupted over early morning pints.
Many were draped in St George’s flags as they went wild as the Lionesses did them proud – and even better, got one over the Aussies.
England hero Gary Lineker took to Twitter to praise the Lionesses, tweeting: “Well played @Lionesses. Absolutely superb performance. A World Cup final.
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“A World Cup final at football. It’s been a while. What a wonderful achievement. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻.”
SunSport columnist Piers Morgan joked it was revenge for the summer’s controversial Ashes series, writing: “England’s fabulous
@Lionesses crush Australia’s wilting Matildas 3-1 in their own back yard to reach the Women’s World Cup Final…
“Sweet revenge for the Jonny Bairstow Ashes runout debacle.
“Congrats ladies- you’ve made your country proud! 👏👏👏.”
England reaction
England defender Lucy Bronze declared it was a dream come true for her and her team-mates.
Speaking to the BBC, she said: “The one thing I’ve always wanted to do is get to a World Cup final.
“After two times of such disappointment, I can’t believe it.
“We played how we wanted to, we were determined, resilient. We knew the crowd would be crazy and we talked about silencing them and at the end we did that.
“We all dreamed of being in the final, all our family and friends have boked to stay here until then because they all believed in us.
“It’s been amazing to play against Australia, in Australia, what a fantastic tournament they had but we’re in the final.”
Sarina Wiegman hailed her England team in an emotional interview with the BBC, saying: “The way we played… of course it was a hard game but we found a way to win. You’ve been talking about ruthlessness all the time, in this team there is ruthlessness. Whether it’s in attack or defence, we really want to keep the ball out of the net.
“We stuck to the plan. I think [Australia have] done an incredible job. They really grew into the tournament. They’ve had some setbacks too… they had to win the last game in the group stage. As a team they are really tough to play against. Yeah, what a performance.
“[On reaching a second World Cup final]. I don’t know. I just said… am I in a little fairytale or something?”
Injury-stricken Lioness Beth Mead praised her team-mates as she said: “WORLD CUP FINAL BABBYY, GET IN @Lionesses 🥳🥳🥳.”
Amazing journey
Despite huge injuries to Mead, Leah Williamson and Fran Kirby impacting the squad before the tournament, the brave Lionesses have overcome each obstacle they have faced so far.
England kicked off their tournament with a stuttering 1-0 win over Haiti, before felling Denmark with the same score six days later.
A Lauren James-inspired England then roared into life as they thrashed China 6-1 in their final group stage match.
However, it was James who soon became the pantomime villain after her needless red card against Nigeria in the Last 16.
Penalties followed after a goalless affair.
But the Lionesses held their nerve, with Chloe Kelly’s rocket of a penalty seeing us through to the quarter-finals, where our the side – captained by Millie Bright – faced off with Colombia.
Once again the opponent proved to be tough, with the South Americans taking the lead shortly before half-time.
But a last-gasp first-half equaliser from Hemp sent England into the interval level before Russo netted the decisive winner as England marched into the semi-final.
The Matildas, bolstered by a returning Sam Kerr, would prove to be the biggest hurdle of all.
Toone’s first half strike was cancelled out by a Kerr stunner in the 63rd minute.
However, Hemp fired the Lionesses back in front eight minutes later, shoving off her marker before slotting her shot into the bottom corner.
The Women’s Super Leagues first million pound star Russo then sealed the deal with her tidy finish into the bottom corner in the 86th minute.
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With the win England’s Lionesses have made history by reaching their first World Cup final.
And we’re all desperate for them to repeat their trick of winning the Euros last year.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
