Australian soccer
As it happened: Matildas heartbreak as England advance to historic final
Australia will face Sweden in Brisbane on Saturday in the third-place play-off at their home World Cup following a 3-1 loss to a clinical England side.
- by Dan Walsh, Roy Ward and James Polson
Latest
Updated
TV ratings
Matildas semi-final fever scores another TV viewing record
The clash with England drew a record average audience of 7.13 million, the highest recorded since ratings agency OzTam was launched in 2001.
- by Thomas Mitchell and Karl Quinn
Anatomy of a wonder goal: How Sam Kerr produced her own Cathy Freeman moment
Having battled injury and not started a game in the World Cup until the semi-final, Australia’s captain produced a memory for the ages. So, how did she do it?
- by Adam Pengilly
Opinion
FIFA Women's World Cup
England embraced the dark arts to crush the Matildas in their own backyard
The Lionesses inflicted pain and hurt on the Matildas long before they beat them. This is what all the best villains do; they pull it off with flair and panache.
- by Luke Edwards
Gustavsson gears Matildas up for World Cup ‘bronze medal game’ against Sweden
Australia are bound once again for Brisbane to contest a consolation play-off against Sweden that, if won, will mean finishing third at an expanded 32-team tournament.
- by Emma Kemp
‘It sucks’: Matildas veterans facing the end after World Cup heartbreak
For players like Katrina Gorry - the ones who are much closer to the end of their careers than the start - the Matildas’ abrupt exit from their home tournament cuts deep.
- by Vince Rugari
The Sam Kerr plan that got England to their first World Cup final
When Sam Kerr got the ball, she was great, but England coach Sarina Wiegman and her Lionesses did a good job of dismantling the Matildas Kerr-factor.
- by Billie Eder
Analysis
FIFA Women's World Cup
Gifts the Matildas gave us will linger
There were tears. There were always going to be tears. But once the hurt subsides for the Matildas and the nation, and it will, the prevailing sentiment ought to be not disappointment, but pride in getting so close.
- by Greg Baum
Kerr calls for more funding in women’s football amid heartbreak semi-final loss
The Matildas captain wants this moment to be used as a catalyst for change in Australian soccer.
- by Marnie Vinall
Matildas player ratings: How Australia’s players fared in semi-final defeat to England
Sam Kerr scored a goal for the ages, Mackenzie Arnold was super between the sticks and Clare Hunt’s reputation was only enhanced. Who starred and who didn’t for the Matildas?
- by Adam Pengilly
Nausea, tension, mind games and glory: How a penalty shootout works
A penalty shootout is one of the most dramatic situations in sport, and the stakes in a knockout match of a World Cup could not be higher. But what are the rules and the tactics?
- by Marnie Vinall