Australia vs England lineups, starting 11 for Women's World Cup semifinal between Matildas and Lionesses

08-16-2023
5 min read
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World Cup co-hosts Australia have reached the semifinals for the first time ever, and will now look to continue a historic tournament by making the final in front of their own fans.

But they will not have it easy against Euro 2022 champions England, who remain undefeated at the tournament – having only conceded two goals in five games.

Both teams have had injury issues before and during the tournament, which have affected their coach's selection options, and there are still lots of team debates ahead of the semifinal, with England also looking to reach the final for the first time ever.

Below are the projected starting lineups for both teams ahead of their match at Stadium Australia on August 16.

MORE: Australia vs England live blog

Australia vs England lineups

Australia starting 11

Australia confirmed starting lineup (4-4-1-1): 18. Arnold (GK) — 21. Carpenter, 15. Hunt, 4. Polkinghorne, 7. Catley — 16. Raso, 19. Gorry, 23. Cooney-Cross, 9. Foord  — 11. Fowler — 20. Kerr

  • Injured: N/A
  • Suspended: N/A

Sam Kerr has officially been named in the starting lineup for the first time this tournament.

She played the final 10 minutes in the Round of 16 win over Denmark, before entering the field against France after 55 minutes and playing all the way through extra time and scoring a penalty in the shootout, she now has enough minutes in the legs to start the game against England.

Emily van Egmond is player who has made way for Kerr's return.

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A notable change is Clare Polkinghorne coming in for Alanna Kennedy at centre back, with the latter absent through illness.

Caitlin Foord and penalty shootout hero Mackenzie Arnold avoided yellow cards in the quarterfinal, meaning they are free of suspension concerns.

England starting 11

England confirmed starting lineup (3-4-1-2): 1. Earps (GK) — 16. Carter, 6. Bright, 5. Greenwood — 2. Bronze, 8. Stanway, 4. Walsh, 9. Daly — 10. Toone — 23. Russo, 11. Hemp

  • Injured: N/A
  • Suspended: Lauren James (Red card vs Nigeria, two game ban)

England will once again be without the services of exciting attacking midfielder Lauren James, as she serves the final match of her two match ban for a violent conduct red card against Nigeria in the Round of 16; Ella Toone replaced her in the attacking midfield spot of coach Sarina Wiegman's 3-4-1-2 she has adopted for the latter games at the tournament.

With a lack of ready-made replacement's, Toone has kept her place in the side, with Alessia Russo and Lauren Hemp maintain their spots in the starting side up top after goalscoring performances against Colombia.

Georgia Stanway and Keira Walsh will line up in central midfield once again, whilst Jess CarterMillie Bright and Alex Greenwood will start in the back three, with Lucy Bronze and Rachel Daly.

MORE: World Cup attendance tracker

What time is Australia vs England kickoff?

The match between Australia and England will begin at 8:00 p.m. local time at Stadium Australia in Sydney.

Here is how that corresponds with regions around the world:

  Date Kickoff time
USA Wed, August 16 6:00 a.m. ET
Canada Wed, August 16 6:00 a.m. ET
UK Wed, August 16 11:00 a.m. BST
Australia Wed, August 16 8:00 p.m. AEST
India Wed, August 16 3:30 p.m. IST
Hong Kong Wed, August 16 6:00 p.m. HKT
Malaysia Wed, August 16 6:00 p.m. MYT
Singapore Wed, August 16 6:00 p.m. SGT
New Zealand Wed, August 16 10:00 p.m. NZT