England Women qualifying for 1st FIFA World Cup final delights Sarina Wiegman: Living a fairytale
Manager Sarina Wiegman was over the moon after England advanced to their first-ever final in the history of the FIFA Women’s World Cup. On Wednesday, August 16, England defeated Australia 3-0 at Stadium Australia.
Ella Toone, Lauren Hemp and Aleesia Russo scored to tame Australia in the crunch match. England also became the second team to knock the tournament hosts out of the competition as late as in the semi-final.
Back in 2003, Germany knocked out the United States and also went on to win the trophy. Can England beat Spain in the final and claim the trophy?
Although England are yet to get their hands on the trophy, their manager Sarina Wiegman said that beating the Aussies was no less than winning the cup.
“We achieved the final! It’s unbelievable, it feels like we won [the tournament] which we didn’t, we just won this game – in an incredible stadium, an away game, the way we played – it was a hard game, but we found a way to win again,” Wiegman was quoted as saying to BBC Sport.
Toone gave England a 1-0 lead in the first-half, but Sam Kerr drew the equaliser with a goal in the 71st minute. However, Kemp and Alessia Russo did not let the home team dictate terms.
“Australia have had an incredible tournament, they grew into the tournament. They had some setbacks, they had to win their last group-stage game and then they got better and better.
“I just said to [assistant manager] Arjan, having the chance as a coach or a player to make it to two finals is really special. I never take anything for granted, but it’s like I’m living in a fairytale or something,” Wiegman added.
On the head-to-head count, England have won five out of 10 matches against Spain while losing two. Three matches ended in draws.
