Women’s World Cup LIVE: England prepare for final against Spain and latest reaction to win over Australia

With so much still unsaid around this Spain team, three statements over the last 48 hours stood out all the more, that illustrate much of the story of their Women’s World Cup run.

One was Tere Abelleira immediately after the semi-final victory over Sweden. “Now we can talk about a ferocious team spirit.” It was as the midfielder was saying this in the Eden Park mixed zone that Jenni Hermoso was striding behind and shouting: “Come on! We’re in the final of the f**king World Cup!”

That is now the most important fact of all. It was amid this mood of jubilation, however, that the abrasive Spanish federation boss Luis Rubiales came out with something that was much more open to dispute.

Read Miguel Delaney on Spain and their run to the final:

Former United States women’s national team coach Jill Ellis said on Thursday that the recruitment process for Vlatko Andonovski‘s replacement should be diverse but that the sex of the candidates should not be a decisive factor.

Andonovski resigned as coach on Wednesday, multiple US media outlets reported, following the four-times champions’ early exit from the Women’s World Cup this month. US Soccer have neither responded to the reports nor confirmed Andonovski’s exit.

Ellis, who oversaw two World Cup triumphs in 2015 and 2019, said there were plenty of high quality and successful women coaches but the most important thing was that the U.S. ended up with the right person for the job.

England captain Millie Bright said to the BBC: “I don’t know I think it’s a moment that we’ve wanted for so long.

“We loved the success last summer but we’ve always known there was something missing and that was the world Cup. What an incredible semi-final.

“The mentality of this group is something that I’ve never seen before and i think that comes from Sarina as well.

“We can play many different ways that is the beauty fo this squad and whatever is thrown at us we find a way to adapt and a way to win.”

Record attendances, standout goalkeeping performances, and penalty-taking fire-power to eclipse any strike by a man in last season’s Premier League.

Not bad for a bunch of girls, is it?

The 2023 Women’s World Cup has certainly been pulling in the fans. One of the home teams, Australia, has twice played in front of crowds exceeding 75,000 in Sydney, and that was only limited by the capacity of the stadium.

Well over 500,000 have attended fan zones in host cities to watch the games on big screens, and, after only two rounds of the tournament, attendance numbers had already exceeded the total attendance of the 2015 World Cup in Canada.

The football world governing body, FIFA, has been trying to grow women’s football at pace, and it seems to be working.

Gemma Abbott on the importance of this World Cup:

According to Opta, Ella Toone is the first England player, men’s or women’s, to score in quarter-final, semi-final and final of a major international tournament.

Ella Toone struck a magnificent opener for England against Australia in the Women’s World Cup semi-final.

The Manchester United star smashed the ball high into the top corner before wheeling away in delight with her teammates.

The 23-year-old, who has grabbed her opportunity in place of the suspended Lauren James, explained her celebration ahead of time.

Lauren Hemp didn’t need to look; she already had the picture in her head. After 86 minutes of being everywhere for England, Hemp found another burst to turn away from Katrina Gorry and ease into the space, gliding to the left to create room on the right. As Australia backed off, Hemp opened up the angle and reversed the ball back to Alessia Russo – her target all along. Then came the finish, low, controlled, a clinical way to round off a ruthless performance on a gutsy night. Cool, calm and collected, it booked England’s place in the World Cup final and summed up how they beat Australia.

“Incredible finish, incredible pass,” Sarina Wiegman said. For the second match in a row, her front two were both on the scoresheet, Hemp and Russo on target in the semi-finals, just as they were in the quarter-finals, just as Wiegman had planned. Except, of course, that no one would have planned for this, in a tournament where rarely anything has gone to script for England and they have been forced to adapt. The Lionesses came into the World Cup with seven forwards and they will likely start Sunday’s final with only two in attacking positions; Hemp and Russo stand as their unlikely combination.

Alex Greenwood claimed she “cannot put it into the words”, so she just kept repeating the words that made her feel like that. “We’re in a World Cup final.”

“I just keep having to say it,” she laughed.

It is a glorious fact worth actually reflecting on, even as thoughts quickly turned to Sunday, what next, who starts, whether Lauren James comes in.

If actually winning the World Cup is the great ambition of any career, the final itself is the great stage. Those who step onto the pitch will leave their own mark on history, the very line-ups part of the record that makes football so rich.

“We wanted to take England and women’s football to a new level and we have certainly done that over the last 12 months,” Ella Toone said. They’ve taken it all to the highest level for the very first time.

That is worth celebrating, as Sarina Wiegman and the players insisted they would be doing.

By Miguel Delaney in Sydney

Lauren James could return to play in the World Cup final after her England teammates earned their spot in Sunday’s Sydney showpiece with a 3-1 win over hosts Australia.

James was handed a two-game ban by Fifa after being sent off during the last-16 win over Nigeria for a stamp on defender Michelle Alozie during the knockout game, which England won via a penalty shootout.

The Chelsea star sat out both England’s 2-1 win over Colombia in the quarter-finals and the semi-final victory over Australia, where Ella Toone’s first-half piledriver, Lauren Hemp’s second-half finish and Alessia Russo’s late strike knocked out the hosts to set up a final with Spain.

James was given an automatic one-match suspension and feared being ruled out of the tournament altogether, with Fifa typically increasing cases of “violent conduct” to a three-game ban. However, the governing body’s disciplinary committee showed some leniency and James could now return for the World Cup final.

Whether she starts the game depends on whether manager Sarina Wiegman wants to change a winning team. The same starting XI saw off Colombia and Australia to reach the final, and Toone – James’s replacement in the No 10 position in those two games – scored a brilliant goal in the semis.

England stormed into their first ever Women’s World Cup final after defeating Australia 3-1.

Goals from Ella Toone, Lauren Hemp and Alessia Russo were enough to put the Matildas away in Sydney.

Australia has been gripped by World Cup fever after the Matildas’ dramatic penalty shootout victory against France in the quarter-finals became the most-watched sporting event in the country since the 2000 Olympic Games, but Sarina Wiegman’s side had too much in the semi-finals.

But the European champions will now play Spain in Sunday’s showpiece in Sydney, after La Roja defeated Sweden 2-1 in the other semi-final.

Get all the latest football betting sites offers and get the latest odds on football matches here. Here’s everything you need to know about the Lionesses’ run down under: