Australia coach Tony Gustavsson has been left wondering what might have been, after the Matildas were dumped out of the Women's World Cup semi-finals 3-1 by European champions England.
Goals from Ella Toone, Lauren Hemp and Alessia Russo cancelled out a stunning strike from talismanic Matildas striker Sam Kerr in front of a raucous sell-out crowd of 75,784 at Sydney's Stadium Australia.
Gustavsson had highlighted the gulf in quality between the two squads before the match, with some of the Matildas in his starting line-up playing for mid-table teams in Sweden, as well as in a relatively weak Australian domestic league.
After the game, he said the tournament co-hosts had created the same amount of chances as England.
"It's one of those nights, where they were more clinical than us in the finishing," Gustavsson told Australian broadcasters Seven.
"I think our defending was very solid in the first half. We told [the players] at halftime to be more confident on the ball and play the way we can play.
"When we started to do that, we dominated the game, but unfortunately, it didn't pay off with enough goals tonight."
Kerr made her first start of the tournament, after a calf injury ruled her out of the group stage, but was kept quiet in the first half by the English backline.
With Australia down 1-0, the stadium came alive, as she collected the ball inside her own half in the 62nd minute and backed up England captain Millie Bright, before sending a brilliant strike from 25 yards past helpless keeper Mary Earps.
Australia had the wind in their sails, but England refused to wilt under the pressure and on 71 minutes, Player of the Match Hemp put them back in front.
Matildas rightback Ellie Carpenter, one of the tournament's stand-out players, failed to deal with a harmless-looking ball over the top and Hemp took full advantage with an easy finish.
Russo then delivered the killer blow four minutes from time to cap what had been arguably England's best performance of the competition.
"We can't thank the fans enough, they've been amazing," Kerr told Seven. "We've felt the love all over the country.
"Just to see the support has really pushed us on, so hopefully this stays around, because this has been amazing for us."
A dejected Matildas squad, some of whom were reduced to tears at fulltime, will now have to rally for a third-place playoff match against Sweden on Saturday.
"It's hard to think about it now, but Tony's already said it's a quick turnaround," Kerr said. "We've got to pick ourselves up and hopefully not go home emptyhanded."
Reuters
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