England beat Australia 1-3 to reach its first ever Women’s World Cup final

England moved on to its first Women’s World Cup championship game with a 3-1 victory on Wednesday over co-host Australia, ending the Matildas’ captivating run through the tournament.

Australia superstar Sam Kerr started her first match of the tournament and scored for the Matildas, but it wasn’t enough to hold off European champions England.

Ella Toone scored in the 36th minute to put England up 1-0 and the Lionesses dominated possession in the first half.

Kerr’s equaliser in the 63rd gave the 75,000-plus crowd some hope, but England sealed it on goals from Lauren Hemp in the 71st and Alessia Russo four minutes from the end of regulation time.

England and Spain will each be playing in the Women’s World Cup final for the first time when they meet at Stadium Australia on Sunday. Australia will play Sweden for third place on Saturday in Brisbane.

The Matildas had never advanced beyond the quarter-finals before this tournament, while European champions England were playing in their third successive World Cup semi-final.