Russo and Hemp score for England as the Lionesses come back from a goal down to reach third consecutive semi-final.
Alessia Russo’s second-half goal lifted England to a thrilling 2-1 quarter-final victory over Colombia on Saturday and into the World Cup semi-finals for the third consecutive time.
Lauren Hemp also scored for the European champions, who now face co-hosts Australia on Wednesday in Sydney for a place in their first World Cup final.
Colombia, who were the lowest-ranked team remaining at 25 and had never made it past the tournament’s round of 16, opened the scoring with a goal from Leicy Santos to the delight of the large swathes of yellow-and-blue clad Colombian fans among the crowd of 75,784 at Stadium Australia.
Hemp evened the score in the seventh minute of first-half stoppage time when she capitalised on a mistake from Colombia keeper Catalina Perez. Russo struck the winner in the 63rd minute and England withstood late waves of Colombian attacks to hold on for the win.
Sarina Wiegman is also a step closer to her second consecutive Women’s World Cup final after her Netherlands team was runner-up to the United States in 2019.
England lost in the semi-finals in 2015 and 2019, going out to Japan and the United States, respectively.
Wiegman led the Lionesses to victory in the European Championship last year, having won that competition with Netherlands in 2017.
With many of the favourites, including the USA, Germany, France and Japan, already eliminated, England will be increasingly confident that it can win its first Women’s World Cup.
