Bronze praises ‘resilient’ Lionesses as England reach Women’s World Cup final

Lucy Bronze has praised a resilient performance from England as the Lionesses beat Australia to reach the Women’s World Cup final for the first time.

England eliminated the host nation at a packed Stadium Australia in Sydney, with goals from Ella Toone, Lauren Hemp and Alessia Russo securing Sarina Wiegman’s side a place in Sunday’s final against Spain.

Chelsea forward Sam Kerr – making her first start for Australia at the tournament – had fired home a stunning equaliser after Toone’s impressive opener, but England bounced back to secure a 3-1 win.

England will now look to add a maiden World Cup to the European Championship won last summer and Bronze was delighted with the performance of her side in the semi-final.

“The one thing I’ve always wanted to do is get to a World Cup final,” the full-back told BBC One.

“After two times of such disappointment, I can’t believe it.

“We played how we wanted to, we were determined, resilient. We knew the crowd would be crazy and we talked about silencing them and at the end we did that.

“We all dreamed of being in the final, all our family and friends have booked to stay here until then because they all believed in us. It’s been amazing to play against Australia, in Australia, what a fantastic tournament they had but we’re in the final.”

Read – England eliminate Australia to reach Women’s World Cup final