Sarina Wegman said she feels as if she is “living a fairy tale” after her team ended the 57-year wait in English football to appear in a World Cup final before By defeating host country Australia 3-1 On a historic night in Sydney.
In the process, Dutch Wegman arrived Her fourth consecutive final as a coachHaving won the 2017 European Championship with the Netherlands, he led the Dutch national team to the 2019 World Cup Final and lifted Euro 2022 with the Lionesses. She also became the first coach to reach the Women’s World Cup finals twice with two different countries.
“I can’t describe how proud I am of the team, how this team has adapted all along, before the tournament, during the tournament and this game, how we go out and find a way to win is incredible,” the 53-year-old said in her post-match press conference at Stadium Australia.
Wegman, who had yet to lose a competitive match in England’s coaching for two years in her role, said immediately after the match that it felt “unbelievable”, adding: “It looks like we won the whole trophy but we haven’t”. R. An away game at this great stadium, it was a tough game but again, we found a way to win.”
When asked how it feels to be the first coach to lead two different nations into the final that awaits England on Sunday, she replied: “I don’t know! The chance that you as a coach get to two finals is really special, we’ve been to four already – it’s like I’m living A fairy tale or something?!”
For more of Serena Wegman’s post-match press conference, click here. Go here.
What and when?
The World Cup Final is the largest single match in international women’s football. The tournament is sure to produce a new winner this year as either Spain or England aim to lift the trophy for the first time.
The final takes place on Sunday 20 August, with kick-off at 11am UK time (8pm Sydney local time).
Where is the match being played?
The final will be held at Stadium Australia in Sydney.
How do you watch
The final will be shown on both BBC One and ITV1.
Broadcasting rights for the Women’s World Cup are shared between the BBC and ITV. It was ITV that broadcast England’s quarter-final victory but the BBC had the rights to broadcast both semi-finals.
How did the teams reach the final?
Lauren Hemp’s second-half strike helped propel England to their first World Cup final as the Lionesses cruised to a 3-1 victory over hosts Australia.
Ella Ton, who replaced the suspended Lauren James in England’s quarter-final victory over Colombia, scored 36 minutes into her second start of the tournament in front of a crowd of 75,784.
Sam Kerr, making her first start in the competition, equalized for the first time in the semi-final with a stunning solo goal after the break before Hemp put England ahead again.
Alicia Russo added again late in the second half to cap off the historic encounter and set up an all-European final against Spain.
England are now one win away from claiming two major titles in less than 13 months after winning the European Championships last summer.
Earlier in the week, Olga Carmona hit late on to lift Spain to Exciting 2-1 win over Sweden in the other semi-final.
Carmona’s 90th-minute shot hit the bar off the bar and into the net two minutes after Rebecca Blomqvist equalized for Sweden.
Quarter-finalist Selma Baralelo, the heroine against the Netherlands, put Spain ahead with the opening goal in the 81st minute, breathing life into an affair that was slowly flaring up.
Who is in the England squad?
Goalkeepers: Marie Erbes (Manchester United), Hannah Hampton (Aston Villa), Eli Roebuck (Manchester City)
Defenders: Miley Bright (Chelsea), Lucy Bronze (Barcelona), Jess Carter (Chelsea), Niamh Charles (Chelsea), Alex Greenwood (Manchester City), Esme Morgan (Manchester City), Lute Woopen Mooy (Arsenal).
Midfielders: Laura Combs (Manchester City), Jordan Nobbs (Aston Villa), Georgia Stanway (Bayern Munich), Ella Ton (Manchester United), Keira Walsh (Barcelona), Katie Zelm (Manchester United).
Attackers: Rachel Daly (Aston Villa), Bethany England (Tottenham Hotspur), Lauren Hemp (Manchester City), Lauren James (Chelsea), Chloe Kelly (Manchester City), Katie Robinson (Brighton & Hove Albion), Alicia Russo (Manchester United)
What does England say?
Speaking after the semi-final, Sarina Wiegmann added: “When you get to the first final you think this is really special and it might not happen again. Then you get a second, a third, a fourth, but every time you think ‘This might not happen again’ Another, “because the competition is very tough and there are many teams that can win the title, which is very special, so I know that.”
Later in her press conference, she appeared somewhat coy when asked about the Australian “Fairy Tale” ending, simply saying, “I’m sorry!” , before adding: “Australia did an incredible job, they really grew in the tournament.”
Asked how much her team has grown since lifting the trophy 13 months ago, Wegman – who was the only coach left in this competition by the quarter-finals – added: “A lot of things have changed. In England expectations were high all along, but after winning the Euros, they’ve gone up.” “But I also think the players’ lives have changed a lot. They’ve really had to adjust to the new life which brings a lot of very good things but also some challenges because everyone wants something from you, but you still have to perform and we’ve always said ‘performance has brought us to who we are’.” Now performing will keep us where we are, and that’s what we’re trying to do.”
What are the odds for the World Cup final?
What is third placement?
The two semi-final losers, Sweden and Australia, will play each other for the honor of winning the bronze medal at the World Cup.
Sweden had finished third in the previous two editions of the tournament, but it was Australia’s first time in the semi-finals. The play-off takes place at Lang Park in Brisbane at noon on Saturday 19th August at 9am BST.
It will be available to watch on the ITV website as well as BBC iPlayer.