Final four: Can hosts Australia shatter World Cup’s glass ceiling?

It appears there will be a firsttime winner of the FIFA Womenrsquos World Cup this year and maybe just maybe it will be the hosts AustraliaThe Matildas serving as cohosts of the tournament with New Zealand became the first home team since the United States in 1999 to win a quarterfinal in nine Womenrsquos World Cups The yellow brigade reached their first semifinal in team history and is about to take on England on Wednesday for a chance to play for the titleldquoI genuinely really believe that this team can do great history in so many waysrdquo Australia coach Tony Gustavsson said ldquonot just winning football games but the way that they can inspire the next generation how they can unite the nation how they can leave a legacy that is much bigger that footballrdquoMeanwhile England advanced with a 21 victory over upstart Colombia They have featured twice in the semifinals in 2015 and 2019 only to finish third and fourth but never make it to the final But before the Australia and England showdown firsttime semifinalist Spain takes on powerhouse Sweden on Tuesday in AucklandAside from a 40 loss to Japan in group play Spain has been a force to reckon with throughout the tournament There was also an earthquake roughly an hour before its quarterfinal win over 2019 runnerup Netherlands creating minor shaking in and around the stadiumldquoWe were so concentrated on the game that we didnrsquot feel it although we felt some shakes at the hotel the day beforerdquo Spain coach Jorge Vilda said ldquoThe victory of Spain was the earthquakerdquoSweden meanwhile is the highest ranked team still in the tournament at second in the world according to FIFA The Swedes got into the semifinals by knocking off previously undefeated Japan the 2011 winners and last remaining champions in the tournament after so many early eliminations of the best teams in womenrsquos soccer ldquoI think we have the team to go all the wayrdquo left back Jonna Andersson said ldquoand now we are one step closerrdquoAustraliaThe Matildas advanced after a tense and electric penalty shootout 76 over France in front of a soldout crowd in Brisbane AustraliaIt took 20 penalties to decide the winner in the longest shootout in the history of the tournament It was the game of a lifetime for goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold who stepped up to take a penalty with the score at 33 but hit the postArnold then managed to twice save shots from French midfielder Kenza Dali the first being waved off after Arnold was ruled to have come off her line for the first save Arnold said she was ldquoincredibly disappointedrdquo to have missed her shot on goal and thanked her teammates for keeping the Matildas in the gameAustralia at 12th in the world is the lowestranked team remaining in the tournament Sam Kerr the injured superstar who missed all of group play came off the bench against France but ended up playing nearly a full game when the match went to extra time Kerr converted her penalty kick And the Australians have also been boosted by the play of 20yearold Mary Fowler who has stepped in to fill Kerrrsquos void in this tournamentArnold said the Matildas need a day to regroup before focusing on EnglandldquoI donrsquot want to ever get ahead of myself and wersquore all the same in that aspectrdquo she said ldquoWe just take one game at a time one half at a time whatever that is and we just keep getting to the next step every time So now that wersquove made the semifinal for the first time wersquoll take a moment to process what wersquove actually donerdquoAlso Read On the rise Five of the Womens World Cups biggest breakout starsEnglandEngland very much wants to add a World Cup title to last yearrsquos European championship and coach Sarina Wiegman understands the Lionesses will have their hands full in a semifinal that will be a home game for AustraliaWiegmanrsquos only loss as England manager in 37 matches was a 20 loss to Australia in a friendly four months ago Now in the semifinals for a third consecutive World Cup England must beat the home team to advance to its first finalldquoItrsquos going to be really bigrdquo Wiegman said of the semifinal ldquoItrsquos probably going to be bigger than I imagined now Irsquoll talk to my players and staff and see what that rivalry is Wersquove had such a warm welcome and wersquove really enjoyed our time here in Australia I really like the people here but that doesnrsquot mean therersquos no rivalry So wersquoll see that WednesdayrdquoEngland already has won in front of a hostile crowd mdash the 75784 in attendance for its quarterfinal win over Colombia were mostly clad in Colombian colors mdash and Wiegman said ldquowe expect a similar crowd for AustralialdquoWe are really looking forward to it We know that itrsquos an away gamerdquo she said ldquoLetrsquos try to use it as an inspirationrdquoEngland star Lauren James will miss her second consecutive game because of a suspension for receiving a red card in the round of 16SwedenSwedenrsquos current team has been labelled the ldquoGolden Generationrdquo of its nationrsquos history of womenrsquos soccer but the Swedes have yet to live up to that billing on an international stageNow it has knocked off both the United States and Japan to reach the semifinals and a Tuesday match against Spain in Auckland Sweden nearly won an Olympic gold medal in Tokyo two years ago but lost to Canada in the final and in the World Cup the Swedes were runnersup in 2003 and threetime thirdplace finishersA highlight of each Sweden win has been the playing of Swedish band Abbarsquos songs in the stadiums after the victories and striker Kosovare Asllani has a request for Tuesday ldquoI love Lay Your Love on Mersquordquo she saidldquoItrsquos so nice when you hear the Abba songs after the game You canrsquot help but smilerdquo she said ldquoIrsquom just very proud of the teams performance but wersquore not satisfied here Obviously I want to go all the wayrdquoAlso Read The last goodbyeSpainSpain was the first team to secure a spot in the semifinals with a 21 win over 2019 runnerup Netherlands in extra time of the quarterfinalsJust making it to the quarterfinals was a boost for Spain ranked seventh in the world but had never before advanced to the quarterfinals in its two previous World Cup appearances But in their third tournament La Roja have been fantasticSpain blew through its first two games of group play before suffering a humiliating 40 loss to Japan in the finale Vilda made a batch of lineup changes for the knockout round which led to a 51 win over Switzerland and then the quarterfinal upset over the DutchIt put Spain on course for a rematch with the Japanese but they were upset in the second semifinal by Sweden and La Roja now faces the thirdranked team in the world on Tuesday at Eden Park in AucklandldquoWersquove reached somewhere wersquove never reached before and done it playing a good game as well with a team that is convinced that we can go even furtherrdquo Vilda said ldquoThe rival that we meet and face in the semifinals it will be one of the best teams in the worldrdquoSpain and Sweden have never met in the World Cup mdash Spain didnrsquot even qualify for the first six tournaments mdash but played to a 11 draw last October in a friendly in Cordoba SpainWith AP inputsThis story was first published on Sunday August 13