Free-to-air viewing figures have gone through the roof in Australia, its flagship Channel 7 pushed back its 6pm news bulletin on Saturday, and kick-off times for other sports events, including Aussie rules, have been moved to avoid fixture clashes with the Matildas.
Fan festivals and large outdoor screens have popped up across Sydney city centre and now a nation which obsessed in a cricket rivalry with England in the Ashes this summer are set to embrace the latest battle between the countries in football.
Aside from being the highest-ranked team England have faced so far – they have avoided the world’s top 10 up to this point – Tony Gustavsson’s side are the only country to have beaten the Lionesses under Wiegman’s management, ending a 30-match unbeaten run in April.
Matildas superstar Sam Kerr has not played a full match in the tournament yet as she returns to full fitness following injury, but she came on in the 55th minute against France and scored her penalty in the shootout, having made it through extra time unscathed.
She could be timing her return to full fitness perfectly to face England, and Kerr will relish the opportunity to face two defenders she knows better than most, Chelsea team-mates Millie Bright and Jess Carter.
It is a mouth-watering tie with intriguing challenges on and off the pitch for England, but they can take heart and confidence from what they have already overcome.
When England lost Walsh against China, Wiegman adapted and introduced a rarely seen formation featuring a back three. It led to their best performance of the tournament in a 6-1 thrashing, and they produced an immense defensive display against Colombia having kept the same formation.
