Matildas v England: Barnaby Joyce admits he jinxed Australia in World Cup semi-final defeat

Death, taxes and Barnaby Joyce gaffes. Fresh from the Matildas defeat to England in the World Cup, the Nationals MP made another shocking confession on live TV.

Australia players look dejected after the team's 1-3 defeat

Death, taxes and Barnaby Joyce gaffes.

Earlier this week the Nationals MP made headlines for the most embarrassing of reasons after admitting he watched the wrong match when the Matildas beat France in the World Cup quarterfinals.

Joyce was watching at the Commercial Hotel in Walcha and vision clearly shows the venue had put on a re-run of the pre-World Cup friendly between Australia and France on July 14.

Fresh from that blunder, the 56-year-old was back on TV this morning to confess the Matildas defeat to England in the semi-finals on Wednesday night was his fault.

Asked on Today if he had watched the correct match, Joyce said: “Yes! I managed it.

“I checked and double-checked. I jinxed them.

“I should have watched a replay of the grand final.

“Very sad but they did an incredible job, didn’t they?

“We were riding on their shirt tails, feeling a reflective glow and sense of pride from their incredible ability.

“When you think about all those South American and European nations and North America, that powerhouses in women’s football, we got into the last four.

Barnaby Joyce on TV after the Matildas defeat

“Hopefully still in the top three in the world. That’s an incredible outcome. So well done.”

The overwhelming reaction from the Matildas World Cup run has been calls for increased funding in women’s sport.

After the final whistle went in Sydney on Wednesday, Matildas coach Tony Gustavsson and captain Sam Kerr were immediately calling on MPs and government to put their money where their mouth is.

Put to Joyce, he said: “Well, yes, obviously we want people to invest in sport.”

Kerr has called on all the politicians who happily jumped on the team’s bandwagon during the World Cup to start funding women’s sport the same way they do for men.

The disparity between the teams is huge and has become a source for frustration because of the way Australian politicians keep piggy-backing off the Matildas - turning up to every photo opportunity - only to go running for cover whenever the topic of funding comes up.

Even in her moment of deepest disappointment, Kerr still believes Australia has the talent to win a World Cup but said it won’t happen until the government starts investing in women’s football like it does in men’s sport.

“I can only speak for the Matildas, but we need funding in our development,” she said.

“We need funding in our grassroots. We need funding everywhere. The comparison to other sports isn’t really good enough.

“Hopefully this tournament kind of changes that because that’s the legacy you leave, not what you do on the pitch.

“It’s hard to talk about now but hopefully that is the start of something new.”

Originally published as Matildas v England: Barnaby Joyce admits he jinxed Australia in World Cup semi-final defeat