Final Four: Australia makes it through to Women’s World Cup semifinals seeking history for Matildas
Associated PressAUCKLAND, New Zealand — There will be a first-time winner of the Women’s World Cup this year, and maybe, just maybe, it will be host country Australia. The Matildas, serving as co-hosts of the tournament with New Zealand, became the first home team since the United States in 1999 to win a quarterfina l in nine Women’s World Cups. So now that we’ve made the semifinal for the first time, we’ll take a moment to process what we’ve actually done.” ENGLAND England very much wants to add a World Cup title to last year’s European championship, and coach Sarina Wiegman understands the Lionesses will have their hands full in a semifinal that will be a home game for Australia. “We’ve reached somewhere we’ve never reached before, and done it playing a good game as well, with a team that is convinced that we can go even further,” Vilda said. “The rival that we meet and face in the semifinals, it will be one of the best teams in the world.” Spain and Sweden have never met in the World Cup — Spain didn’t even qualify for the first six tournaments — but played to a 1-1 draw last October in a friendly in Cordoba, Spain.