Australia 1-3 England player ratings: Ella Toone and Lauren Hemp break Australian hearts as Alex Greenwood shines in defence
England’s completed a 3-1 victory over Australia in the Women’s World Cup semi-final. We dissect the performances of each starting XI player and substitute.
Mary Earps – 8
Put up a brave display and would have had a higher rating were it not for Sam Kerr’s otherworldly equaliser to make it 1-1. She carried on with her heroics in a tense final 10 minutes of the game, and did not let her guard down again.
Jess Carter – 9
Always a scary task coming up against your domestic team-mate, but the Chelsea defender marshalled Kerr well, made her tackles count, and was gutsy in the dying moments of the match when Courtney Vine almost grabbed another goal.
Millie Bright – 8
The 29-year-old might feel a bit aggrieved about kneeing Kerr’s shot past Earps. But it was such a tiny deflection, and she was otherwise sturdy. Who could forget that long pass up to assist Alessia Russo’s finish?
Mary Earps is beaten by Sam Kerr (not pictured), making it 1-1
Alex Greenwood – 10
Her crosses have been magical, and her line-breaking passes sumptuous. Sure, Greenwood picked up a yellow card for a crunching tackle on Kerr, but who cares? A 10 if we’ve ever seen one.
Lucy Bronze – 8
Kept Hayley Raso in check on the left, bar a few nervy moments. The Barcelona full-back almost chipped the goalkeeper in the second half too, but whether it was intended is another question altogether.
Georgia Stanway – 8
A fizzing figure in the central midfield spaces, zipping around, breaking up possession, and stitching up passes with forward players. A quieter performance from Stanway, but just as vital.
Keira Walsh – 8
Also slipped a little under the radar but was busy battling knees and ankles in central areas – which was needed because the referee was very happy to let those challenges flow.
Rachel Daly – 8
Wherever she plays, she excels. Get yourself a Daly who can tighten up opposition activity on the left flank and conjure up a quick throw-in in the build-up to England’s second goal.
Lauren Hemp – 10
“You get a 10, and you get a 10…” – shades of Oprah in this player ratings list. Hemp tops it. She kept harrying the Aussie backline and forced Ellie Carpenter into gifting her the chance to finish calmly in the 70th minute. She then acted as provider minutes from time to put the game to bed.
Ella Toone – 10
A pile-driver in the 36th minute forcing Australia to concede for the first time in over five hours? We’d give an 11 if we could. The Manchester United attacker had a glittering performance and continued to widen the cracks in the Matildas’ defence the entire way through.
Lauren Hemp fires England back into the lead after slotting it into the far corner taking her side 2-1 up against Australia in the World Cup semi-final
Alessia Russo – 10
She did everything – got in behind the Aussie defence, connected dangerous passes with Toone, and got a goal as the cherry on top. If she hadn’t given away the ball in the lead-up to Kerr’s equaliser, she might have gotten some extra points.
Substitutes
Chloe Kelly – 6
Got stuck in when she was subbed on in the 87th minute for Russo. The Manchester City winger also picked up a yellow card for resorting to the dark arts – by that, we mean moving an England free-kick about after the referee had already marked the spot.
Niamh Charles – 6
Came on for Tooney in the 90th minute, and didn’t falter in a fast and furious finish to the game.
