England head coach Sarina Wiegman says that Australia shouldn’t be seen as the underdog when the two nations contest their FIFA Women’s World Cup semi-final in Sydney tomorrow.
The Lionesses are the second-favourites to win the FIFA Women’s World Cup after already-confirmed finalists Spain.
When speaking in the pre-match press conference, England boss Wiegman insisted that Australia shouldn’t be viewed as the underdog going into their semi-final tie at Stadium Australia.
“I don’t think they’re an underdog; they are playing at home and the stadium will be really full,” Wiegman said. “It will be two strong teams that have grown into the tournament, so it will be very tight and competitive.
“We approach the game like any other; we prepare for our own game. We have analysed our opponents well so hopefully, we can take out some strengths and exploit some weaknesses.”
England were defeated 2-0 by Australia when the two sides contested an international friendly in Brentford in April. Wiegman went on to say that the Lionesses took plenty of learnings away from that game.
She said “That game at that point gave us a lot of information. We learned from that and we have that knowledge now, we have that experience. It’s good to have that experience and we can take that with us tomorrow.
“We’ve also analysed Australia during the tournament, so I think we are very well-prepared for what they want to do and how they want to play. We are ready for it.”
Wiegman says that she is proud to guide the Lionesses to a FIFA Women’s World Cup semi-final but she has her eyes firmly set upon reaching Sunday’s final.
“A lot of teams are expected to get to the semi-finals and the final but you can never take anything for granted, it’s really hard,” Wiegman said.
“It is very special to go so far in the tournament but when you are in the semi-finals, you want to win it because you want to get to the final.
“I feel privileged to get this far but I really want to take the next step.”
England’s FIFA Women’s World Cup semi-final tie against Australia kicks-off at 11am tomorrow morning.
About The Author
