San Diego Wave FC midfielder Emily van Egmond and the Australian women’s national team fell to England 3-1 on Wednesday morning, closing out their longest World Cup run in team history.
Van Egmond will face Sweden and Wave teammate Sofia Jakobsson in Australia’s final match of the tournament, a third place playoff game, on Saturday, Aug. 19, at 1:00 a.m. PT from Brisbane Stadium. England will meet Spain in the World Cup Final on Sunday, Aug. 20, kicking off at 3:00 a.m. PT from Stadium Australia.
Australian captain Sam Kerr started her first match of the tournament and served up a goal in the second half, but it was not enough to cancel out goals from England’s Ella Toone, Lauren Hemp and Alessia Russo.
England struck first in the 36th minute as Toone found space on the edge of the box and blasted a strike into the top corner for the lead. The second half brought new energy to Australia’s attack, and in the 63rd minute, Kerr scored a worldly goal from distance to level the match. Despite numerous opportunities from the host country, England sealed the match with two more goals in the 71st and 86th minutes from Hemp and Russo for a final score of 3-1.
Notes:
- Wave teammates Emily van Egmond (AUS) and Sofia Jakobsson (SWE) will face off in the Third Place Playoff game on Saturday, Aug. 19, at 1:00 a.m. PT from Brisbane Stadium.
- Van Egmond helped the Matildas to their historic first-ever World Cup Semifinal. The midfielder has scored one goal and recorded one assist in four starts during the 2023 World Cup.
