England have advanced to the Womens World Cup Final for the first time after knocking out the tournament hosts, Australia, in a match that witnessed three goals for the Lionesses and one for Australia. This was one of Englands most important wins in history since it qualified them for a World Cup final after beating the hosts, knowing that the team didnt always convince during the tournament so far. Although they performed well against China and Denmark, they werent as good against Nigeria and Columbia (before bouncing back after conceding a goal).
The teams performance in the semi-final was relatively better and can be considered their best performance of the tournament so far, even though they did commit a few errors in this match as well, which is natural. Being able to resist Australias colossal crowd support in this match, given that they play on their home soil, and succeeding in not getting impacted performance-wise by these circumstances proved that this team is a united group with a strong personality and a desire to win.
Surpassing the period that followed Sam Kerrs equalising goal was not easy at all, and England were focused enough to resist that complicated period before and after adding a second goal, knowing that Australia missed some concrete goalscoring chances, especially after conceding Englands second goal and could have completely changed the way this game ended.
On the other hand, Australia did their best to overcome a formidable opponent like England and were very close to equalising after conceding the second goal. And although Kerr was crucial in getting the team back in the match after conceding the first goal, she was also missing some key goalscoring chances that could have helped the team equalise for the second time and perhaps score a third goal.
Nevertheless, the blame shouldnt only be directed towards Kerr mainly because she is getting back from an injury and is not 100% yet. Also, Kerr was not the only player who made errors in this match since there were a couple of devastating defensive mistakes that cost Australia the qualification ticket.
This tactical analysis article will focus on the Lionesses key tactics that helped them win the match while exploring the Matildas attacking and defensive errors. But before that, the analysis will begin with presenting both teams lineups.
Lineups
Tony Gustavsson preferred to start the match according to the 4-4-2 formation with Mackenzie Arnold as a goalkeeper, Ellie Carpenter, Clare Hunt, Clare Polkinghorne, and Arsenals Steph Catley in defence, Real Madrids Hayley Raso and Caitlin Foord as wingers, Katrina Gorry and Kyra Cooney-Cross as midfielders while Sam Kerr and Mary Fowler formed the teams attacking duo.
For England, Sarina Wiegman opted for the 3-4-1-2 formation using Mary Earps as a goalkeeper, Jess Carter, Millie Bright, and Manchester Citys Alex Greenwood as centre-backs, Barcelonas Lucy Bronze and Rachel Daly as wingers, Georgia Stanway and Keira Walsh as central midfielders, Ella Toone as an advanced playmaker and both Lauren Hemp and Alessia Russo as strikers. In other words, Hemp was the second striker with more freedom of movement, and Russo was the main striker.
The Lionesses key tactics and performance
Following Lauren James red card and ban, England didnt struggle regarding chance creation, nor did they fail in recurrently reaching Australias final third. The 3-4-1-2 helped them a lot in securing their backline and especially in finding a suitable attacking idea that was implemented starting from the China match.
The presence of a dynamic player like Hemp upfront and as a second striker who has the freedom to move centrally and lean toward the wings at times was crucial as it surprised opponents and did not allow their defenders to mark her properly, given her quick and pacy movements with and especially without the ball.
Hemp has proved that she can be instrumental as a second striker and not just as a winger, and her overall performance highlights just that with one goal, one assist, and so many excellent movements.
In addition to her great effort in pressing, especially in the action that led to her goal, Hemp retreated numerous times to receive the ball from midfield and advance using her pace and dribbling before serving Russo. This was previously a role given to Fran Kirby, but in this match, Hemp could lead similar actions efficiently, especially during the third goal action.
Hemp intercepted a wrong pass in her teams own half and dribbled past her opponent intelligently to start her advancing run and serve Russo with an accurate assist using her left foot for a pass between Australian players legs. This was one of Hemps best actions of the match, and Russo was clinical enough not to miss this opportunity to send her team to the final officially.
Image credit: BBC Sport
England had more than one playmaker in this match, as a few players were excellent in providing key passes and crosses, such as Greenwood, whose long passes were often dangerous and could have led to goals if exploited better.
In addition, Bronze and Daly played a crucial role in both the attacking and the defensive perspective as they were asked to support attacks and to retreat in a defensive line formed of five defenders when in the defensive phase, which guaranteed more compactness for Englands back line and fewer solutions for Australias attack.
The teams first goal was scored by Toone, who was present when her team needed her and showed up with a convincing pKeep Reading TFA With A Free 7 Day Trial
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