Australia beats France to reach Women's World Cup semi-final
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Australia will play England in Sydney on Wednesday after defeating Colombia 2-1.
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Australia players celebrate after winning the Women's World Cup quarterfinal soccer match between Australia and France in Brisbane on August 12, 2023. (AP)
Co-hosts Australia defeated France 7-6 in a dramatic penalty shoot-out on Saturday to go to the Women's World Cup semi-finals for the first time in their history.
Australia will play England in Sydney on Wednesday after they defeated Colombia 2-1.
Cortnee Vine scored the winning penalty for Australia, capping a historic shoot-out in which both sides took ten penalty kicks, with the quarter-final ending 0-0 after 120 nerve-wracking minutes.
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Australia goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold had an opportunity to win the shootout when her kick struck the post, but she subsequently saved twice from Kenza Dali after the VAR noticed she had both feet off her line the first time.
Vicki Becho missed France's tenth penalty, leaving it up to Vine to send Australia through by defeating France's substitute goalie Solene Durand, who had been brought on just for the shootout.
Tony Gustavsson, Australia's coach, said he was "So freaking proud about this team. The bravery that they showed tonight, unbelievable."
"I think we'll have maybe tonight to celebrate it, and then tomorrow we'll review it and move on to the next game," Arnold said.
France's Les Bleues hopes to reach the semi-finals after losing in the last four in 2011 and a sell-out crowd of 49,461 but were eliminated.
Speaking to France 2, French coach Herve Renard expressed they had a "whole stadium and a nation against us," adding that they gave an "Exceptional performance, but that's football. It was destiny."
"Good luck to Australia. I think we deserved more but that's how it is."
Yesterday, Sweden booked a semi-final meeting with Spain at the Women's World Cup after defeating Japan 2-1 on Friday in Auckland, New Zealand.
Last week, FIFA reported that the Women's World Cup attendees were up nearly 30% from 2019, demonstrating that the tournament in Australia and New Zealand had "exceeded expectations in many ways."
Back in April, FIFA predicted the women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand would be a "watershed" moment that shifts the game to another level, with the target to rival the men's version eventually.
Bareman told NewsCorp Australia that more than two billion viewers were expected to tune in, double the previous tournament in France, won by the United States, commenting that she believed the event would be a major turning point and a driver for social change.
