England returned to the scene of their opening group fixture in Brisbane to take on Nigeria. Three Blues were in from the start with captain Millie Bright and Jess Carter at the heart of the defence, while Lauren James was occupying the No.10 role.

Having progressed from Group B in top spot, Australia played host to Denmark in Sydney and were unchanged from the side who began their final group game against Canada. Sam Kerr remained on the bench patiently waiting for her first appearance of the tournament on home soil.

After witnessing some big hitters make early exits from the tournament, there was growing optimism from the outside about England’s chances of going all the way, while Australia were looking to seize upon the home advantage with Matildas fans eager to get their first glimpse of Kerr in action.

Living dangerously

In the first game of the day, Nigeria made a lively start against England and twice came close to opening the scoring through defender Ashleigh Plumptre who was denied by the crossbar and then by Mary Earps. England were awarded a penalty with half-an-hour played after a push on Rachel Daly. However, an on-field review by the referee saw the decision overturned, much to the Lionesses' frustration.

It was quickly becoming an end-to-end encounter as half-time approached. Bright and Carter combined with two goal-saving blocks to prevent Nigeria from opening the scoring. England were trying to settle into a rhythm but they were struggling to assert themselves as the teams entered the break with nothing to separate them.

Once again, the crossbar came to England’s rescue within two minutes of the restart. The Lionesses began to look more threatening in attack and almost found the breakthrough on 75 minutes, but Daly’s header was brilliantly saved by Chiamaka Nnadozie. However, a crushing blow followed when James received a red card for foul play and the Lionesses entered extra-time with 10 players.

Nerves of steel

Sarina Wiegman’s side were under the cosh and used every second during the interval before extra-time to gather themselves and regroup ahead of a huge 30 minutes. They retreated into a defensive shape but were struggling to create any meaningful advances into the opposing half. Chloe Kelly and Bethany England had been introduced in a bid to change England’s attacking fortunes.

There was nothing to split the sides as the game entered the final 15 minutes. A deep free-kick was floated towards the head of England who managed to make contact and watched as the ball drifted agonisingly wide of the post. After an action-packed 120 minutes of football, the winners would be decided with a penalty shootout.

Georgia Stanway missed the opening penalty, but Desire Oparanozie could not take advantage with Nigeria’s first kick. England got the Lionesses off the mark before Michelle Alozie missed for the Nigerians. Daly and Alex Greenwood scored for England, Rasheedat Ajibade and Christy Ucheibe dispatched for Nigeria to make it 3-2, before Kelly scored sending England into the quarter-finals.

Matildas march on

Australia were relishing their role as co-hosts of the World Cup this summer and were determined to put on a show for the home crowd. Caitlin Foord opened the scoring for the Matildas on 29 minutes, running onto a perfectly weighted through ball from Mary Fowler and clinically sweeping the ball into the far corner of the net to give the hosts a narrow lead at the break.

It was a tense start to the second half with Denmark looking to force an equaliser, while Australia needed a second goal which arrived with twenty minutes to play. Fowler’s cross fell to Emily van Egmond who laid the ball off for Hayley Raso to drill into the bottom corner and put the Matildas on the cusp of the quarter-finals.

With 10 minutes remaining, the moment that every Australia fan had been waiting for arrived. There was a huge roar as Kerr made her eagerly awaited comeback in front of 75,000 supporters who saw their team manage the remainder of the game and book a quarter-final date at the weekend.

What’s next?

England must wait until tomorrow (Tuesday) to discover their quarter-final opponents and they will take on either Colombia or Jamaica on Saturday 12 August in Sydney, with kick-off scheduled for 11.30am (UK time).

Australia also need to wait until Tuesday to find out whether they will meet France or Morocco in the quarter-finals in Brisbane on Saturday, with kick-off at 8am (UK time).

Our World Cup stars will return to domestic action when the Women’s Super League season begins in October. Click here to view our ticket bundles and find out how to secure your seats for 2023/24!