As the FIFA Women’s World Cup nears its decisive stage, the craze for the tournament has soared to an absolute peak, especially in Australia who are the co-hosts for the tournament. With the Australian team qualifying for the semi-final, where they will face the mighty England, most of the sporting chatter in the country is around Tony Gustavsson’s team. While fans in Australia are understandably thrilled seeing their team’s progress, even those in the air were celebrating as Australia defeated France 7-6 in the quarter-final after the game went into penalties.
Co-hosts Australia are truly “on a mission” to inspire and unite the nation as they head into a Women’s World Cup semi-final against England on Wednesday, coach Tony Gustavsson said.
The penalty shoot-out win propelled Australia into the first semi-final in their history and followed 120 minutes of seesawing football that ended deadlocked at 0-0.
National broadcaster ABC called it the game that “stopped the nation” with fans enthralled by Australia’s exploits and packing out the stadium, as well as pubs around the country.
Big screens were also erected in Melbourne, Sydney and Perth. Even on a flight, fans were glued to the screens. Here’s the video:
pic.twitter.com/NwLMpJPcfF
— Out Of Context Football (@nocontextfooty) August 12, 2023
“I genuinely really believe that this team can create history in so many ways, not just winning football games,” said coach Gustavsson, who was assistant to USA coach Jill Ellis when they won the World Cup in 2015 and 2019.
“The way that they can inspire the nation, how they can unite the nation, how they can leave a legacy that is much bigger than 90 minutes of football.
“That is also why I believe in them so much.
“When that drives you, that is a powerful tool that is very difficult to stop, and I have sensed that from day one working with this team, the inner drive is what gets them to where they are today.”
With AFP inputs
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