15 August 2023 , 11:08
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The old-age rivalry between England and Australia is rearing its head once again - but this time it is being directed towards football, and not the traditional cricketing world.
An unlikely rivalry that Lionesses boss Sarina Wiegman toned down in her pre-match press conference on Tuesday - but is being pushed to the top of the mind game agenda by David Warner.
The Australia opener has taken a cheeky dig at England ahead of the Women’s World Cup semi-final on Wednesday. The Lionesses face Australia in Sydney at Stadium Australia, which could kick-start a fresh rivalry, especially as it's their second meeting in just a few months after the Lionesses' defeat to the Matildas in April.
However, England as a country seems to live rent-free in Warner's head. The Australian cricket team were unhappy when the ball was changed mid-innings during England’s victory in the fifth Ashes Test last month.
It is something Warner clearly has not forgotten as he wished Australia good luck ahead of the semi-final clash. He wrote on Twitter: "An early good luck to the Matildas. Just keep an eye out in case the Poms ask to change the ball." Fellow batter Usman Khawaja also chipped in, tweeting: "They going to go with the 2010 'Jubulani' ball."
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England will be outnumbered in the stands at Stadium Australia but they are unbeaten at the tournament so far. By contrast, the Matildas were given a major scare in the group stage when they were beaten by Nigeria. When Gustavsson was asked which side are favourites, he admitted there were differences.
"You guys are better than me at speculating that," he told a press conference. "But if you look at rankings they (England) are favourites. If you look at where their players play, they have starting players in top leagues around the world." Gustavsson added: "Also the one thing we have that they don't have is the support and the belief of our fans. That is going to be massive tomorrow."