When Alessia Russo’s goal hit the back of the net on Wednesday, it was as if the air had been sucked out of Stadium Australia.
More than 75,000 fans had been cheering for the Matildas all night and despite the 2-1 scoreline, there had been plenty of belief they could get back into the match.
But as Russo fired past Mackenzie Arnold’s outstretched hand, everyone in the ground knew that the jig was up.
were heading to their first senior final since 1966 and the hosts’ fairytale was coming to an end.
The atmosphere had been hostile from the get-go. Attempts from both sides to downplay the historic rivalry between the two nations was firmly negated by the chorus of boos that greeted the England players’ warm-up.
This might have been the Lionesses and the Matildas first competitive fixture in women’s football, but no one was under any illusions that this match would be anything less than combative.
England have done well to shut out the noise throughout this World Cup. After a Euros campaign where everyone was on their side, there were question marks as to how they would fare when the opposite was the case.
Even as the jeers rained down as England went in with some crunching early tackles, they did not lose their heads, comfortable in their gameplan and ability.
That was a reflection of the fact they had been preparing for this moment for years.
Third time lucky
Unlike Australia, England were playing in their third consecutive World Cup semi-final.
Three members of this current squad were in Canada back in 2015 where a heartbreaking own goal from Laura Bassett in injury-time saw the Lionesses knocked out by Japan.
For Lucy Bronze, Alex Greenwood and Jordan Nobbs, they have seen the team go from underdogs to favourites in the space of eight years.
Seven of this squad were present in 2019 when a missed penalty from Steph Houghton and an offside toe from Ellen White ended their dream of knocking out the holders the USA at this stage.
The win in Sydney was a reminder of how far England have come in both the long and short term. The Euros win was proof that they had the ability to win an international tournament but their success at the World Cup has been a long-time coming.
Over the past decade, England have developed a confidence on the international stage that has meant whether a player has more than 100 or fewer than ten caps, they are prepared to contribute.
This has been supported by a league system that has seen English players developed to win titles at home and abroad. This World Cup final is the culmination of those long-term plans.
One final hurdle
The truest test of what England have learned over the past decade will come on Sunday
Neither team has ever reached this stage before. Spain had not even won a knockout game at a major international tournament before this World Cup, let alone got to the final.
They have faced their own challenges over the past year, with many of the issues being publicly well-documented. Fifteen players boycotted the national team last September, in protest of the conditions they were playing under with Spain.
Despite a number returning for the World Cup, tensions between coach Jorge Vilda and his squad have remained clear for all to see. Comments from players after games have implied they are gritting their teeth to get through the tournament in the hope that winning a World Cup will be worth it.
England are familiar with this Spanish team, having beaten them at the quarter-final stage of last year’s Euros, although they needed extra time to do so. Their possession-based approach has helped Spain reach this stage but they have defensive frailties too, as their 4-0 loss to Japan in the group stage demonstrated.
A number of the players know each other well; Keira Walsh even revealed her Barcelona team-mate Aitana Bonmati had texted her good luck before the semi-final.
By the final whistle on Sunday, one of these teams will have won the World Cup for the first time. If England can bring the same to the match at the weekend that they did against Australia on Wednesday evening, it could very well be them.
This tournament has been full of ups and downs, with hurdles to overcome and a bit of luck to be relied on. But on Sunday, there is a real chance that it could be coming home.
