England walked out and for a moment it might have felt like they had been there before. A crowd of over 75,000, millions elsewhere tuning in. An expectant nation inspired by the power and momentum of a team who represent something greater than themselves.
But this wasn’t the Euros final. This wasn’t Wembley. This time England were the enemy, deep in the land of Matildas fever. This time they faced the crowd, the noise, the jeers and boos, the helicopters hovering over their training session and splashing photos of their plans across the morning newspapers. They faced Australia’s biggest night in a generation. They faced the spirit of Cathy Freeman, and a moment that would unify the country. They faced Sam Kerr, and they heard the eruption that greeted the star of the World Cup finally having her moment.
The Lionesses faced all that but did not shake. Instead, they turned it into their first World Cup final, and end point for a tournament that has been defined by the problems and challenges that have blocked their every turn. For England, this was the anti-Euros final, as the Lionesses got one game away from their World Cup dream while denying the hosts a shot at theirs.
As England tamed the atmosphere in Sydney, and Sweet Caroline rang around the quickly emptying Stadium Australia, they did so with the coldest and most clinical performance of Sarina Wiegman’s reign. The Lionesses fouled, the Lionesses wasted time, the Lionesses picked up cheap yellow cards and took away Australia’s momentum. But they also played, they controlled, and they were the better team for large spells. And when Kerr burst forward and struck an unstoppable shot past Mary Earps, England managed to overturn the story of the World Cup and produce something from nothing all over again.
It helps, then, that they could turn to a player who at this World Cup has lifted England by doing that. Lauren Hemp has turned into England’s match-winner, a devastating central forward transformed from a player who was as true a winger as you could possibly find. The Euros last summer were supposed to be her tournament and the 23-year-old was tipped to be its breakout star. In response, opponents double-marked her and in turn, it created space for Beth Mead to be England’s player of the tournament on the opposite flank.
In another world, Hemp’s World Cup could have been over when England switched formation and landed on a system that wouldn’t use wingers at all. Kept in the team but as a second forward, Hemp has been released by it, becoming the pinball in England’s attack. Against Australia she was everywhere once again, bouncing off the challenges, pinging around the frontline and doing the work of two positions. Hemp is so involved because she chases everything, winning a throw-in, taking the ball and driving, not towards the goal but just to get England up the pitch. In England’s gruelling progress through the knockout stages, she has grafted endlessly, turning hopeful punts into clever, targeted balls downfield.
Hemp breaks through Carpenter to score England’s second— (The FA via Getty Images)
And then she got her reward, not once but twice: the first to put England towards the final, the second to seal it. Chasing down Ellie Carpenter, Hemp burst in behind, took a ball that was not hers to win, and finished past Mackenzie Arnold. Then, moments after Kerr blazed a golden chance over the bar, Hemp created Alessia Russo’s goal from a position that was not even a fraction as threatening. Hemp latched onto a loose ball in midfield, she turned, accelerated, delayed the pass and created the angle for her strike partner. The finish was ruthless too.
At the end of it all, England somehow managed to get away with it while also being utterly deserving of their place in Sunday’s final. This was a night where England needed to be perfect and there were large spells where they simply weren’t. The Lionesses rode their luck until it looked like they had run out of it. Australia waited for a moment, a loose England pass, or a break downfield, and the Lionesses gave them both; Russo was dispossessed and Kerr raced away. As England should have known, with Kerr, a moment like that was all Australia required.
England relied on their defensive resilience to close the win out late on— (Getty Images)
But on the whole, England were just cooler than Australia. In the first half, the pressure England were facing came from themselves, but it almost seemed that as soon as Wiegman’s side realised that, they immediately relaxed and the picture they were facing became clearer. Slowly, gradually, England figured it out. For the first time, Keira Walsh was able to turn on the ball and England were able to put a move together, playing through midfield, finding the space out.
They looked a level above, but this was an occasion where their dark arts were needed as well. There were a trio of fouls on Kerr within the opening 25 minutes of the Australia captain’s first start of the World Cup. As the Lionesses closed it out, Earps took her time from every goal-kick, Jess Carter with every throw-in down England’s right. Lucy Bronze stayed down, then so did Georgia Stanway. Hemp kept the ball in the corner, Chloe Kelly refused to throw it back. But England had been here before; this was the experience of European champions, and now there is an even bigger prize to win.
