Matildas v England FIFA World Cup semi-final: Latest news ahead of blockbuster showdown

Barnaby Joyce is no stranger to an on-air gaffe but his latest will take some beating. The Nationals MP made a stunning confession about the Matildas on live television.

Barnaby Joyce watched the wrong match

Barnaby Joyce is no stranger to an on-air gaffe but his latest will take some beating.

Speaking live on morning television the Nationals MP admitted he was watching the wrong match when the Matildas’ secured their World Cup semi-final berth in a dramatic penalty shootout on Saturday night.

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.

“Well I went to the pub and watched them on the weekend, but I think we we’re watching the wrong game,” Joyce said.

“I think they put on a repeat because it was on Channel 10, I don’t think it was the right one.

“But when we finished the game, Australia had won 1-0 in full time.

“I know it was an incredible penalty shootout which we never [saw] - we went had dinner because we thought they’d won 1-0!

“I think it was a previous game..

“Whatever was happening, I think it was pretty dodgy. I don’t think they’d paid for their vision or something. Such is life.”

Dear, oh dear Barnaby 🤦🏽‍♂️🤦🏽‍♂️🤦🏽‍♂️ 😆#Matildas#FIFAWomensWorldCup2023#auspolhttps://t.co/cq26L8xRK1

— Ramonz_C (@ramonz_c) August 14, 2023

It got worse, it turns out Joyce had posted a video to Facebook shortly before the Matildas took to the field with the caption: “in every country pub, city club, suburban home they are doing this tonight. Watching the Matildas”.

Joyce then weighed into the current debate around a national holiday if the Matildas win the World Cup.

“I think it’s a very good reason for the Matildas to have a day off. But look, why didn’t we have a day off after the Diamonds won?” he said.

“I mean that they would have just put just as much effort in as anybody else. When we go well in the Olympics, we’re gonna have a day off after that?

“We’ve just got to be really careful, this taking days off, because ultimately somebody does pay. I mean, it‘s not a case of it’s for free.

“Somebody has to pay and it’s overwhelmingly the small businesses. And if I asked you, ‘do you want to pay for your colleagues to have a day off?’, you would probably say no.”

Former deputy prime minister @Barnaby_Joyce has been caught in an unfortunate mix-up at his local pub, which showed @TheMatildas' FIFA Women's World Cup warm-up match against France from July 14 that aired on Network 10, instead of their scintillating shootout victory on Saturday… pic.twitter.com/R6Zka8xGVV

— 10 News First (@10NewsFirst) August 14, 2023

AUSTRALIA’s NEW CULT HERO

Mackenzie Arnold wasn’t even Australia’s first-choice goalkeeper until recently, but is now being hailed as a national hero and stands in England’s way in their Women’s World Cup semi-final.

Arnold played a central role in the penalty drama on Saturday which sent co-hosts Australia into the last four of the World Cup for the first time.

She saved three penalty kicks -- and missed one of her own -- to help propel the Matildas to a thrilling 7-6 shootout win over France in the quarter-finals.

It has been a whirlwind few months for the 29-year-old.

The West Ham United stopper has been part of the Matildas set-up for more than a decade but she was third choice for much of the time, spending the 2015 and 2019 World Cups on the bench.

It is only this year that Arnold finally became coach Tony Gustavsson’s first-choice between the posts.

The past few months have been significant in another way for Arnold off the pitch.

In April she posted a video on Instagram of herself collecting some hearing aids.

“Those closest to me know how long I’ve avoided this day, but here’s a little glimpse of a life-changing day for me,” she wrote.

Arnold does not wear hearing aids during games because she would be “fiddling with them too much” and has said that not wearing them “is still quite normal for me, doesn’t affect me too much”.

But she told Optus Sport ahead of the World Cup: “It’s still a whole different world when I put my hearing aids in.

“It’s like, ‘What have I been missing out on for 25 years?’”

Matildas Keeper Mackenzie Arnold

WHY SAM KERR HID HER GENDER AS A CHILD

Sam Kerr has opened up about keeping her gender hidden when she was younger so she could continue to play Aussie Rules.

The global superstar, who grew up in Fremantle, was a late comer to football and onlyy started playing when Aussie rules became too rough.

In a book released shortly before the Women’s World Cup, Kerr revealed many of her teammates simply assumed she was a boy because of her “short hair and blonde tips”.

She decided to “keep (her) gender a secret because I didn’t want them to treat me any differently just because I was a girl.”

“I knew I’d be the only girl on the team but that didn’t worry me at all,” she wrote in her book My Journey to the World Cup.

“I didn’t want them to treat me any differently just because I was a girl.

“I remember one of the boys crying when he found out.

“But as good as I was out on the field, and as much as I loved playing the game, the physical differences between the guys and me eventually became too pronounced and the play was too rough.

“One day, I came home from a game with yet another black eye and bloody lip, and that’s when my dad and brother both said, ‘Nup, this isn’t happening anymore’.

“I was getting battered around so much out on the field that it was getting to be a big problem. Dad and my coach both sat me down then and said it was getting far too dangerous for me to continue to play.

“They said they were sorry, but that I wasn’t allowed to play football any more. I understood the reasons why, but I was heartbroken. Back then, there were no girls’ teams in my area for me to join, and to know that I’d never play a sport that I loved so much ever again was devastating.”

Sam Kerr as a child and at the current World Cup

MATILDAS STAR’S WIKI PAGE GOES VIRAL

As a nation recovers from one of the most gripping penalty shootouts in World Cup history, a Wikipedia page set up for the hero of the night has gone viral for all the right reasons.

Cortnee Vine scored penalty kick no 20 against France on Saturday night to put her side into the final four of the tournament for the first time in history.

As she scored the country erupted. From live sites to Emirates flights 35,000 feet in the air, Australia celebrated an incredible feat which sets up a semi-final showdown with England on Wednesday night.

Vine, who admitted after the match she often feels “out of place” when she’s recognised as a Matildas star, has been hailed on her wiki page as “the greatest Australian to ever be Australian.”

The edit was made moments after her spot kick.

The 25-year-old was one of 10 Matildas players to stand up for a penalty kick in the longest shootout in World Cup history - men’s or women’s - which finished 7-6 in Australia’s favour.

Matildas star Cortnee Vine had her Wiki page taken over

ENGLAND COACH HAILED

Fans have praised Sarina Wiegman after she consoled opponent Carolina Arias during their World Cup quarter-final clash.The England boss led her side to book a semi-final date after a gripping 2-1 comeback victory over Colombia.

The entertaining match saw England show their sophistication off the pitch as well as on it.

This comes as boss Wiegman, 53, was seen consoling the injured Carolina Airas down the tunnel.

The distraught full-back was left crying after she was forced off in the 10th minute following a hard collision in the box.

The defender sat sobbing on the bench and watched her side go 1-0 up after Leicy Santos scored in the 44th minute, before England levelled 6 minutes later.

And in a touch of class, Weigman put the competition aside as she held the Colombian’s hand as she made her journey away at half-time.

Alessia Russo struck the winner in the 63rd minute as England advanced to the semi-finals for the third straight time.

Wiegman is also a step closer to her second consecutive Women’s World Cup final after her Netherlands team was runner-up to the United States in 2019.

And the compassion didn’t end there, with many England players consoling their Colombian opponents after the full-time whistle.

Originally published by The Sun

England Coach Sarina Wiegman after Colombia win

8AM ENGLAND: BRING IT ON

England say they are relishing playing in front of what promises to be a partisan 80,000 home crowd in their Women’s World Cup semi-final against co-hosts Australia on Wednesday.

The European champions had a taste of what awaits when they fought back from a goal down to beat Colombia 2-1 on Saturday during what felt like a home game for the well-supported South Americans.

The Lionesses will be back at the imposing Stadium Australia in Sydney on Wednesday with both teams attempting to win the World Cup for the first time.

Alessia Russo scored the winner in the 63rd minute against a physical Colombia and the Arsenal forward said she had enjoyed playing in front of a hostile crowd.

“That’s what the World Cup is all about -- seeing top teams on the biggest stage with their fans behind them,” she said.

“We’ve had a taste of that tonight because their fans were incredible and (Australia) is another test, but one that is exciting, not only to face the hosts but to be in a semi-final.

“So yes, keeping the dream alive.” England’s Dutch coach Sarina Wiegman praised her side’s resilience, having fallen behind in the 44th minute, before Lauren Hemp’s equaliser in first-half injury time and Russo’s winner.

They will need plenty of that character if they are to overcome an Australia side who prevailed 7-6 on penalties over France and have the weight of a nation behind them.

“That’s huge, but this was big too. It felt like an away game, but we just concentrated,” Wiegman said.

“It’s just really fantastic that we can be here and be part of it. “We’re through to the semi-finals and we are going to stay till the end of the tournament.” Wiegman was asked by one reporter whether she fully appreciated the long-standing sporting rivalry between her adopted country and Australia.

“I just think it’s going to be really big but I’ve now had a couple of questions about it so it’s probably going to be bigger than I imagine now,” said Wiegman, who took the Netherlands to the 2019 final, where they lost 2-0 to the United States.

“I’ll talk to my players and staff and see what that rivalry is then.”

Originally published as Matildas v England FIFA World Cup semi-final: Latest news ahead of blockbuster showdown