20 August 2023 , 06:00
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England star Rachel Daly has embraced life as a critical component of her side's riveting Women's World Cup run, which took another positive turn when the Lionesses defeated Australia on Wednesday. A warrior on the field known for unselfishly taking on whichever role asked of her, Daly is now also the final survivor of a well-documented football love triangle.
Aussie Sam Kerr and Kerr's current girlfriend, United States midfielder Kristie Mewis, are both out of the competition. Kerr, of course, lost to England while being cheered on by Mewis, while Sweden defeated the Americans on penalties.
Daly dated Mewis between 2017-19 while the pair played at Houston Dash, in the United States. Shortly after, however, Mewis began dating Kerr - and was spotted surrounded by Australia shirts cheering on her partner against the Lionesses. But leaving the pitch with a big smile on her face at full-time, Daly got the last laugh.
Kristie Mewis watches girlfriend Sam Kerr of Australia during the England match (AP)The 31-year-old Daly has her complete focus on the task at hand: a Women's World Cup final against Spain on Sunday. She posted a picture of the Lionesses posing together after their semi-finals win with the caption: "WORLD CUP FINAL BABY." Daly has notched five starts at the tournament. She scored in a 6-1 romp over China and assisted in a 1-0 victory over Denmark. Her commendable versatility — she's done plenty of defensive tracking while playing wide — has delighted England fans.
She's long been defined by her ability to fulfill any role asked of her. "She was a one-off, she was completely different, and the attributes she had, those winning attributes, it's just pure focus on winning the game," said former trainer Michael Sweetman to the PA news agency. "It can, in some ways, not be great, but on a football pitch, it's ideal, it's perfect. She's been a success at every team she's played in and that's why I think, but she had the physical attributes as well.
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Daly and Kerr literally went head to head (FIFA via Getty Images)"She wasn't amazingly quick or amazingly fit, but she just played the game. Her touch was amazing, she was strong and nothing fazed her. She could take a boot, get up and get on with it. She's skillful, she'd play up front or in midfield for me and she scored two or three a game."
Aston Villa club manager Carla Ward, who called Daly "an unbelievable talent" late last year during her 22-goal WSL campaign, backed that complimentary analysis.
"She knows where the back of the net is and has incredible movement," Ward said. "I think you can play her anywhere. And we've seen that for England, where she's played right-back, left-back or coming in off the left or down the middle. So she is a very, very talented individual."
Sam Kerr suffered Women's World Cup heartbreak as hosts Australia lost in the semi-final to England. (DeFodi Images via Getty Images)England won Euro 2020 last summer with a 2-1 win over Germany, and they are thriving this summer in the uncharted territory of being considered a true football powerhouse. They've allowed just three goals in the entire 2023 Women's World Cup. The difficulties expected to arrive in tandem with higher expectations haven't seemed to affect them, culminating in this weekend's big match against Spain.
"Being the ones to beat comes with winning, it comes with success," Daly told the Guardian last year. "It's a target on your back but pressure is a privilege, and we have to see it as that."