England defeated Colombia 2-1, while Australia escaped a dramatic penalty shootout against France to set up a riveting Women’s World Cup semifinal.
The European champions led by Sarina Wiegman demonstrated resilience after conceding a remarkable goal by Leicy Santos, ultimately securing a well-deserved victory in front of a predominantly pro-Colombian audience of 75,000 spectators in Sydney.
England will return to Stadium Australia on Wednesday, where they will expect an even more hostile reception from the co-hosts.
In the other quarter-final of the day, Australia defeated France 7-6 on penalties to reach the last four for the first time in their history.
Santos’ outstanding dipping shot from the edge of the box on minute 44 gave Colombia the lead against the flow of play in their first quarterfinal.
However later in the first-half stoppage time, Lauren Hemp capitalised on a goalkeeping error by the clumsy Catalina Perez, and Alessia Russo’s cool second-half strike gave the Lionesses the advantage going into the quarterfinal.
