England beats Colombia 2-1 to reach semifinals as Australia makes history

A thrilling day of quarterfinals comes to an end with Australia and England victorious in their respective matches. The Matildas and the Lionesses will play each other in Sydney on Wednesday, adding another chapter to the storied sporting history between the two countries.

Co-host Australia will be confident despite England’s higher placing in the world rankings. After all, in April, it was Australia which ended England’s unbeaten 30-match run with a 2-0 win, the Lionesses’ first loss under manager Sarina Wiegman.

The Matildas will be buoyed by the epic penalty shootout victory over France which secured a place in the last four for Australia for the first time, but after 120 minutes of play and 20 penalty kicks, energy and emotion will have been exerted in creating history.

Australia will also have home advantage – tens of thousands cheering them on against a country the Australians love to beat, no matter which sport.

World No. 4 England, however, will be favorite to progress to the final despite the Lionesses not being at their best so far in the knockout stages of this tournament.

Colombia threatened in the last eight, but ultimately, the English did just enough to set up a mouthwatering semifinal.

Read about Australia’s incredible penalty shootout win here and England’s win over a spirited Colombia here.