England have made more history, reaching their first Women’s World Cup final after beating Australia 3-1 to set up a showdown with Spain on Sunday.

The pre-match amble focused on who would be considered the underdog – the Euro 2022 champions or tournament co-hosts – as well as the rich sporting history between the two countries.

And it all made for an entertaining semi-final at Stadium Australia. England drew first blood as Ella Toone (36) curled home a superb effort as the Matildas conceded their first World Cup goal since the second group game against Nigeria – a run of well over five hours.

Australia saw their talismanic captain Sam Kerr return to the XI, and she had her inevitable say in proceedings in the 63rd minute, hammering a sensational effort home from around 25 yards.

But England’s tournament pedigree began to shine through as Lauren Hemp (71) saw the Lionesses back ahead soon after, before Alessia Russo (86) made sure of their spot in Sunday’s showpiece final against Spain.

While co-hosts Australia – who were backed by a magnificent home crowd in Sydney – can no longer win the tournament, they can secure a third-place finish when they face Sweden in the play-off on Saturday.

England manager Sarina Wiegman was almost speechless following the game, telling BBC Sport: “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.

“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.”

By Charlotte Marsh Senior football journalist for SkySports

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