England eye 'incredible' chance to end 57-year World Cup drought

Skipper Millie Bright said her team were embracing an "incredible opportunity" to do something an English side has not managed since 1966 -- win a World Cup.

The Lionesses powered into Sunday's final in Sydney against Spain after a ruthless 3-1 dismantling of co-hosts Australia, with their relentless energy grinding down a Matildas side that had few answers.

It set up England's biggest game since Bobby Moore lifted the men's trophy at Wembley 57 years ago.

"I'm really happy for the fans back home, for our nation," said Chelsea stalwart Bright, with men's skipper Harry Kane and even King Charles III sending congratulations.

"It's something that we've all been driving towards and it's something that's been missing. Now the opportunity we have is incredible."

The European champions have grown through the tournament, with their ruthless attacking football and defensive resilience proving a tall order for the opposition.

But it has been their adaptability that has driven them to the brink of history, built on the back of the tactical genius of coach Serena Wiegman who led them to the European title last year.

"You can win in many different ways and, for us, we've faced so many challenges at this tournament," Bright said on Fifa.com.

"It's hard for people to see on the outside, but as players, we know that there's more to football than just pretty passes and connecting.

"In each game, we've proved something different about how we play, what we're capable of. We're very adaptable to what teams throw at us.

"But things are really starting to click now and we're getting the ball in the back of the net."

This is ominous for Spain, who have also shown resilience after their tournament preparations were thrown into disarray.

Last September, 15 players sent an email to their football federation saying they did not want to be considered for selection. The protest was aimed chiefly at coach Jorge Vilda, including complaints that he was too strict.

Vilda held on to his job and  has steadied the ship, but England will nevertheless be favourites on Sunday with Wiegman at the helm.

The Dutch coach has reached four major tournament finals in a row, leading the Netherlands to the European title in 2017 then the World Cup final in 2019, where they lost to the United States.

With England, she took them to European glory on home soil last year and now has another chance to win the biggest trophy of them all.

"We made the first final in 2017 and thought this is really special, it might not ever happen again," she said.

"Then you make the second, the third and the fourth and still think this might never happen again because there is so much competition," she added.

"I can hardly describe how proud I am of the team."

Heartbroken Australia target World Cup bronze

Australia coach Tony Gustavsson has told his deflated team they have "no time to dwell" on their crushing Women's World Cup semi-final loss to England, with a third-placed playoff still to come.

The Matildas slumped 3-1 to a ruthless England on Wednesday to shatter not only their dreams of lifting the trophy for the first time, but the hopes of an expectant nation captivated by their exploits.

Despite the gut-wrenching disappointment, they must lift themselves one last time to take bronze against Sweden in Brisbane on Saturday, with a new legion of fans wanting more.

"I actually said in the circle after the game, it's an extremely short turnaround to that game," said Gustavsson, who will be facing his home country.

"I know we're emotional, but we have no time to dwell on this one. We have a bronze medal game to play. We need to be ready.

"We're tough, we're fit, we dig deep. We have the support from the fans," he added.

Australia's run to the semi-finals was their best showing in a World Cup and sparked a groundswell of interest in football, winning hordes of new fans to a sport that usually plays second fiddle to Australian Rules, rugby and cricket.

Their showdown with England was watched by a record 11 million Australians, broadcast data showed -- nearly half the country's population.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the Matildas' achievements would leave a lasting legacy, and praised them for the way they carried themselves on and off the field.

"The Matildas have inspired this and future generations to come," he said on Thursday.

- 'An inspiration' -

"To see the young girls, but also young boys with their faces painted, with their jerseys on, attending the Matildas games, watching right around the country is an inspiration and it will have a lasting impact."

Star striker and skipper Sam Kerr, who scored a sensational equaliser against England, admitted the team was heartbroken, but said they were determined to repay the fans and go out on a high against Sweden.

"The amount of people who've come out to support us, who've been there at our hotel, I'll say it again -- it's been amazing. We never could have dreamed about this kind of support," she said.

"So yeah, we have to pick ourselves up and go again. And we're going to do everything to win third place. We'll be back up, ready to go to Brisbane, and hopefully to make everyone proud."

They face a dangerous third-ranked Sweden who won all their group games then knocked out defending champions the United States before crashing 2-1 to Spain in the semi-finals.

Peter Gerhardsson's side, who came third in 2019, have extra motivation in wanting to send out their inspirational skipper Caroline Seger with a victory in her final international game.

Gustavsson knows the team well and predicted "a very interesting match-up".

"I'm going to be honest, I hoped that it would've been the final, both for Sweden and us," he said. "But now it's a bronze medal game and we need to make the most of that."