What time is Matildas game v England tonight: is Sam Kerr playing, predictions, odds, penalty shootout

England v Australia for a spot in the Women’s World Cup final.

It’s a sentence we never imagined writing but here we are.

Who wins and how?

Our experts give their match score, crucial player and result.

ADAM PEACOCK

Prediction: Australia 2-1; Fantastic battle of contrasting styles with elite players involved. Kerr to win it in the 88th minute.

Australia’s key player: Mary Fowler. Assuming Kerr starts, Fowler’s influence on the ball can be greater. Also has a job to do to quell England’s midfield.

England’s Key threat: Keira Walsh. Central midfielder in the top five players in the world. Sets her team’s tempo.

ROBBIE SLATER

Prediction: Australia 2-0. England fears Sam Kerr, and rightly so. The Matildas, who are riding a wave of emotion, don’t fear anyone in an English team missing suspended star Lauren James.

Australia’s key player: Mary Fowler. The young playmaker is the creative spark that the Matildas will feed off in their attacking third of the pitch.

England’s key threat: Millie Bright. The England captain and central defender is a threat because as a club teammate of SamKerr, she won’t be fazed by anything that Australia’s skipper has up her sleeve.

MARCO MONTEVERDE

Prediction: England 2-1. The Lionesses’ are set to spoil Australia’s party by beating the Matildas, who face the tough task of backing up from an exhausting and tension-filled Saturday night in Brisbane. The champions of Europe will also have learnt from their loss to the Aussies in April.

Australia’s key player: The tenacious Katrina Gorry needs to dominate the midfield and be first-class with her distribution if the Matildas are to win.

England’s Key threat: If Gorry is vital to Australia’s hopes, then Barcelona’s Keira Walsh is the key for the Lionesses in an overall midfield battle that could decide the game.

TILLY WERNER

Prediction: Australia 1-0; The twelfth player, Australia’s home fan bass, can be the extra wind the Matildas need to get across the line. They’re likely to play most of the game in their defensive half but if our fast forwards can get in behind Millie Bright in the center one time, we know what Sam Kerr will do with the opportunity

Australia’s key player: Kyra Cooley-Cross has been simmering for the whole tournament. We’re yet to see her best but with Katrina Gorry likely to be holding the tagging role again to try and keep the English midfield at bay, it could allow Cooney-Cross to fire.

England’s key threat: Alessia Russo can match any of of Australia’s quickest for speed and showed her knack for precise finishing with a beautifully slotted goal against Colombia. Australia can’t give her time on the ball and her Arsenal teammate Steph Catley will be crucial to shutting her down.

ERIN SMITH

Prediction: Australia 2-1; It will be a tight tussle but the sold out home stadium advantage will be what gets the Matildas’ over the line against England. The Matildas’ will simply want it more.

Australia’s key player: Clare Hunt and Alanna Kennedy must be inseparable against the fierce England attack. If they get separated like they did against Nigeria England won’t waste the opportunity. If they work together they can nullify England’s chances and control the game.

England’s key threat: Millie Bright is gold in defence. She isn’t afraid to make tough tackles and can read the play as well as Mary Fowler- making her a real danger woman for anyone looking to score against England.

ROBERT CRADDOCK

Prediction: Australia to win on penalties. If you thought Saturday night’s penalty shootout was big ...

Australia’s key player: Mackenzie Arnold. Australia’s exceptional goal-keeper has done well to fight through an eye injury over the past two weeks and is crucial again with her great reach and towering presence in what shapes as another tight contest.

England’s Key threat: Defender Lucy Bronze has been hot and cold this tournament but has a massive task in trying to shutdown Australia’s best player in the Cup, Caitlin Foord. If she succeeds Australia must find another hero.

JULIAN LINDEN

Prediction: Australia 2-1. This will be another nail biter but the Matildas will get the job done late. When their legs are weary, it’ll be their hearts and guts that will get them over the line but it won’t be easy.

Australia‘s key player: In big games, the best players rise to the occasion and for the Matildas, that means Sam Kerr. Whether she starts or comes off the bench, Kerr will have a big impact, not only through what she does herself but how she lifts her teammates. Don’t be surprised if she scores more than once.

England‘s Key threat: Lauren Hemp has been a revelation for the Lionesses since she was promoted to the side as teenager in2019. Last year, when England won its first major international football title in 56 years at the European women’s championships,she was a star contributor and has continued in the same vein at the World Cup, scoring two goals in the tournament so far.

JAMIE PANDARAM

Prediction: Australia 4-2 (penalties). With the scores locked nil-all at the end of extra-time, the Matildas will exploit England’s weaknesses in the penalty shootout with another memorable cliff-hanger that sends them through to the decider. Theghosts of their previous failed penalty shootouts, the loss in the Ashes, and the thumping in the netball World Cup grand final will leave English fans wondering why they continually choke to old enemy Australia on the big stage.

Australia’s key player: Hayley Raso. The dynamic right winger has been Australia’s most important player thus far in the tournament, not only as the leading goal-scorer but creating numerous opportunities with her lightning fast runs and routes. She will terrorise the English defence.

England’s key threat: Rachel Daly. Usually a striker, she is now being used as a left back by England in a clever ploy to broaden their attacking options. The danger for Australia is Daly’s subtle streaks down the pitch when defenders are confused as to who is responsible for her, potentially creating miscommunication and goal-scoring opportunities for the Lionesses.

THE STORY TO NOW

Australia and England clash in the Women’s World Cup semi-finals on Wednesday in Sydney in the latest instalment of a longstanding sporting rivalry between the countries.

Co-hosts Australia have the nation behind them for the first World Cup semi-final in their history and Stadium Australia will be heaving with an anticipated crowd of about 80,000.

Their heart-stopping penalty shootout win over France in the quarter-finals on Saturday was one of the most-viewed television sporting events in almost two decades.

But England are the European champions and will be favourites to reach the final of the World Cup for the first time, even if they must face down a hostile crowd.

It was put to England’s Dutch coach Sarina Wiegman that she probably did not fully appreciate the enormity of a match between Australia and England.

“It’s going be really big,” she said, with Spain or Sweden awaiting the winner. “But now I’ve had a couple of questions about that so it’s probably going to be bigger than I imagined now.

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

The storied sporting rivalry between Australia and England has already witnessed several episodes this year.

Australia won both the men’s and women’s Ashes cricket series. Australia’s netball team then rubbed salt in English wounds by beating them in the recent World Cup final.

England football captain Millie Bright understands how much it means to fans of both countries.

“I don’t think you can’t look forward to that game,” she told reporters after England came back from a goal down to defeat Colombia 2-1 in the quarter-finals.

“This is the biggest tournament in the women’s game to date so what a game to be a part of.” She added: “We’re not just coming here to compete, we’re coming here to get the job done and we’ve shown that in our mentality and character in every single game.”

Teammate Lauren Hemp, who scored the equaliser against Colombia, said: “Australia, bring it on.

“It’s going to be a packed stadium with so many Australian fans, but we know if we play at our best we are unstoppable.”

England will again be without the banned Lauren James, but they did not miss her in a convincing performance against Colombia in front of a crowd roaring on the South Americans.

- PERFECTLY PRIMED -

England may be ranked six places above the Matildas in the FIFA rankings but the home side are riding on a wave of excitement and acclaim.

They have used the support to lift them in difficult moments and will be banking on more of the same at the imposing Stadium Australia.

They also go into the game after defeating England 2-0 away in an April friendly, ending the Lionesses’ proud 30-match unbeaten run.

Australia also have striker and skipper Sam Kerr back in the frame after a calf injury.

Coach Tony Gustavsson’s biggest decision will be whether to start the prolific Chelsea forward.

He has named an unchanged side in their last three games, but Kerr played 65 minutes against France and it looks increasingly likely she will play a full part.

“What’s good is that we have continuity in what we’re doing,” said Gustavsson. “We have a clear playing style, so we don’t really need to train to be tactically prepared.

“It’s more about making sure we’re mentally and physically prepared for the semi-final. These players are on a mission.” Vice-captain Steph Catley said they were “just primed for this moment”. “We’ve got a perfect little balance of a core group that understand the gravity of the situations and a small group of younger players who might not understand the gravity, which is kind of bliss,” she told reporters.

“You’ve got their confidence and their flair, and then we’ve got mature (players) bringing an understanding to moments like that.”