England midfielder Ella Toone scored her first goal of the 2023 Women’s World Cup, helping the Lionesses secure a place in the final for the first time. The Manchester United star fired a ball in the top corner after it ricocheted off Alessia Russo’s foot. And with that, Toone, who has had a memorable tournament, also got her name registered in history books. She has become the first England player among both men and women to score in the quarter-final, semi-final and final of major international tournaments.
In the 2022 Euros, Toone scored in the quarter-final against Spain and then again in the final against Germany. Following her heroics, the Lionesses lifted the trophy on home soil.
Coming back to the semi-final between England and Australia, after Toone’s 36th-minute strike, Australia pulled back with their own superstar Sam Kerr rising to the occasion. Kerr’s brilliant shot from 25 yards set the stage for a fiery battle just after the hour mark. This came after Australia manager Tony Gustavsson took a gamble starting Kerr for the first time this tournament.
It was then Lauren Hemp’s turn to step up and put England in front again. Not too long after Hemp dispatched Millie Bright’s long ball into the goalpost, Alessia Russo’s right-footed strike into the bottom left corner ended all hopes for the Matildas. Apart from Ella Toone and Lauren Hemp, Alex Greenwood was prolific in defence.
England manager Sarina Wiegman, who became the first coach to guide two separate countries to the final of the Women’s World Cup, was absolutely speechless following the historic triumph. “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,” Wiegman told BBC Sport.
Previously, Wiegman had helped the Netherlands in reaching the final of the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Meanwhile, the Spanish football team got the better of Sweden 2-1 in the other semi-final. England will now face Spain in the final of the Women’s World Cup on Sunday. Australia will square off against Sweden for third place on Saturday.
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