England booked their spot in the last four of the Women’s World Cup with a hard-fought 2-1 quarter-final win over Colombia in Sydney.
Sarina Wiegman’s Lionesses trailed after 44 minutes at Stadium Australia, as Leicy Santos’ mishit cross looped over goalkeeper Mary Earps to send Colombia – the lowest-ranked team left in the tournament – into raptures.
But Lauren Hemp came to England’s rescue by smashing home the equaliser deep into first-half stoppage time after a chaotic goalmouth scramble in which Colombia ‘keeper Catalina Perez lost a loose ball she had looked to have under control.
Colombia continued to cause England their fair share of problems after the break, but Alessia Russo’s superbly taken strike shortly after the hour mark secured the Lionesses’ passage to the semi-finals for the third World Cup running.
Speaking at full-time, Russo reflected on another tough test passed by England. She told ITV Sport:
“We did [have to dig deep], absolutely, and I think we've had to dig deep from the first game. And that's what it's like; they have so many talented players that can cause you trouble within a second – but I thought our back line were brilliant tonight."
Teammate Hemp added: "I'm absolutely knackered right now – most of the team are, to be honest – but we put in a great performance, and I think you saw the resilience of the squad just there. I'm so proud of this team."
England face co-hosts Australia on Wednesday (August 16), bidding to reach their first ever World Cup final.
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