Women's World Cup: Matildas have chance to create history against England

It's the years of history between the nations. Decades of sporting battles on and off the field. And the clash of two cultures so inextricably intertwined, yet different on so many levels.

Australia and England will add another chapter on Wednesday night when the Matildas face the Lionesses in the Women's World Cup semi-final in Sydney.

The foundation for the rivalry was laid in 1882 with the birth of the Ashes. According to the English press, England cricket had died after losing to Australia on home soil for the first time.

It was perhaps the earliest example of the Australian underdog story, the plucky kids determined to upstage their more-fancied rivals.

What started on the cricket field quickly spread to other sports. Different code, same old rivalry.

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The undertones present the day the Ashes legend was born permeate through sport at every level today.

England, of course, were stunned they could have lost a game of cricket to the convicts Down Under. It should never be this way.

The mindset has sat with the nation for 141 years since.

It's why England were so confident "Bazball" would prevail in the recently completed Ashes, why the players refused to accept defeat on multiple occasions and they celebrated a drawn series as equivalent to a victory. For the record, Australia retained the Ashes and have held the trophy since 2018.

The series was just the latest in a long line of flashpoints between the two teams. The 1932-33 Bodyline series is seen as a low-point and almost sparked a diplomatic fallout between the two nations.

Don Bradman's Invincibles will live on as potentially the greatest cricket team in history, dominating England 4-0 and completing a 34 game tour undefeated.

Then there was Shane Warne, the chubby kid from Melbourne who clean bowled Mike Gatting with the ball of the century, his first in Ashes cricket. The delivery kick-started the career of an Australian legend and years of English torment.

It's not just cricket. An English sledge sparked to Australia's 61-45 demolition over the Roses in last week's Netball World Cup final.

Across rugby league, rugby union, cycling and a host of other sports, the stakes are raised when Australia takes on England.

Wallabies fans can still feel the pain of Jonny Wilkinson's drop goal in extra-time of the 2003 Rugby World Cup final.

On the flipside, Socceroos supporters still talk glowingly of the cold, windy 2003 night in London when Australia stunned David Beckham's England 3-1. The match was just another occasion of the hosts taking their opponents lightly and looking ahead to seemingly more important games.

One of the common themes among all those great sporting moments is Australia's status as an underdog. Even the refrain "football's coming home" represents an air of superiority, ownership of a sport that doesn't belong to one nation but the world.

England simply isn't meant to lose to Australia. Yet the irony is Australia typically gets the better of their colonisers.

The outlier, of course, is the 2005 Ashes series. Ricky Ponting's men travelled to England the best side in the world and eager to extend a 16-year reign. Instead, the English turned the tables to upset their rivals in front of adoring home fans.

And so the stage is set for the latest battle between the two nations, Wednesday's Women's World Cup semi-final between the Lionesses and Matildas at a packed Stadium Australia.

The match didn't need any extra stakes, but the Ashes rivalry takes things to another level. As usual, England is the football powerhouse eager to silence an Australian team that has captivated the nation.

The European champions, England, belong here. Historically Australia has not, but this Matildas team absolutely does.

Again, the underdog mentality has long existed within Australian fans and partially explains why so many people have been swept up in this wild, euphoric, and at times tense, ride.

This isn't rugby league, a sport played professionally in three countries, or the even more insular AFL, this is the world game. Success on the global stage is so much harder to come by and means so much more when it does come.

But it's also England's game. Remember - "football's coming home". There's that sense of superiority and expecting to be here.

On the flipside, the Matildas have fought and used every ounce of determination to earn their place on this stage.

Now, they have an opportunity to not just create history, but add another chapter in the rivalry between Australia and England.

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