Potteries reaction to England's win

The Lionesses booked their place in the World Cup final today

Author: Trevor ThomasPublished 16th Aug 2023

England have beaten Australia 3-1 to reach the Women's World Cup final for the first time.

Second-half goals from Lauren Hemp and Alessia Russo sealed victory for the Lionesses in Sydney.

Sam Kerr equalised for the hosts just after the break, after Ella Toone started the scoring in the opening 45-minutes.

The European champions will face Spain in Sunday's final.

Meg Baldwin, Port Vale's ladies squad's captain gave us her analysis after watching the semi final:

"The Lionesses just played that perfectly.

"It was brilliant to watch, and by half-time they'd completed about three time the amount of passes that Australia had.

"Their recovery time on the ball was 7 seconds compared to Australia's 25.

"I thought Sarina Wiegman had a great game plan."

Meanwhile, Stoke City's women's team manager Angela Smith was also full of admiration for the England boss:

"She's done a fantastic job, and even in the elation of winning she's quickly reminded us that the job is not done yet.

"Spain will feel the same and indeed have a great chance on Sunday.

"I think the two best teams have got through."

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