Women’s World Cup LIVE: Matildas heartbreak as England advance to historic final

Astounding.

The Matildas’ heartbreaking 3-1 loss to England in the semi-final drew a five-city metro audience of 4 .495 million viewers on Seven, according to figures released by ratings agency OzTam.

When the total TV audience numbers come in (which includes regional and streaming numbers), this figure is likely to eclipse the record set last week when the Matildas’ penalty shootout win over France was viewed by a national Total TV audience of 4.904 million Australians, according to OzTAM’s new measurement system.

Those figures, of course, will not include fans at live sites, the 75,000+ at Stadium Australia, and packing pubs and clubs across the nation.

Huge.

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Matildas captain Sam Kerr has called for Australia’s deep run in the Women’s World Cup to be used as a catalyst for change in the Australian game.

“I can only speak for the Matildas [but], you know, we need funding in our development, we need funding in our grassroots. We need funding, you know, we need funding everywhere,” she said after the match.

“The legacy is what you do off the pitch. Hopefully. I mean, it’s hard to talk about now, but hopefully that this is the start of something new.”

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Vlatko Andonovski resigned as coach of the US women’s national team on Wednesday in the aftermath of an epic and disappointing early exit from the Women’s World Cup, multiple outlets reported.

US Soccer is finalising a deal with assistant coach Twila Kilgore as interim head coach, The Athletic reported.

The women’s team suffered its earliest exit ever from the World Cup in a loss to Sweden on penalty kicks in the round of 16.

Andonovski, 46, also helmed a lacklustre showing in the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo, piloting the squad to a bronze medal.

His contract was set to expire at the end of this calendar year, Yahoo Sports reported. He finishes with a 51-5-9 record since taking over for Jill Ellis in 2019. He was just 3-2-5 in major tournaments.

Ellis led the USWNT to back-to-back World Cup titles.

Field Level Media

When Sam Kerr had her moment, she grabbed it with both hands.

A breakaway run in the 63rd minute of the game, and the Matildas skipper sent the ball into the back of the net to draw her team level with England.

There were similar moments sprinkled throughout the game, like when she went one-on-one with English keeper Mary Earps in just the seventh minute, igniting a roar from the 75,000-strong crowd at Stadium Australia.

But for the most part, Australia’s star striker was hunted down by the pack of Lionesses, and the Matildas’ fairytale World Cup ended with a 3-1 loss to England on Wednesday night.

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And here’s The Sun. LIONYESSES, y/n?

England 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.

The Lionesses are not to be messed with – and they are one game away from conquering the world.

Read the full London Telegraph story here.