Predictable Lionesses? Australia boss Tony Gustavsson outlines plan to target two England stars in Women's World Cup semi-final

• Australia beat England in April
• Matildas boss Gustavsson targeted two players
• Hopes to do that again in World Cup semi-final

WHAT HAPPENED? The Matildas are the only side to have beaten the Lionesses since Sarina Wiegman took charge in September 2021, winning 2-0 in a friendly in April to snap the Dutch coach's 30-game unbeaten streak. Gustavsson believes that England have improved since that defeat but he still sees areas that he and his team can "target" again as they prepare to meet in the last four of the World Cup.

WHAT THEY SAID: Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Gustavsson said: "When we played them last time we got a good transition game going but I also know England learned a lot from that game. You saw England play against Nigeria, for example, who are also a very good transition team, and England played much more direct than they normally do. I think they have evolved and adjusted their game plan a little bit so they are not just possession based.

"Are England going to stay true to their possession game or are they going to take away our transition game by playing a different style of football than they normally do and just adjusting in that sense? We are prepped for both. We are prepped for both systems, if they play 4-3-3 or 3-5-2. We have also played with three different systems in this World Cup, so we might be flexible and do something different as well.

"The one thing that I think is interesting is that are there some players, no matter what system they play, that have the very same tendencies and when we played them last time, we managed to target specifically two of those players and benefitted from that tactically. So, we looked into those nuances and those individual behaviour a little bit more now instead of the system - and hope that we can target that tomorrow as well."

THE BIGGER PICTURE: History awaits for one of these two teams, with neither having played in a Women's World Cup final before. This is Australia's first ever semi-final and they will be supported by a huge home crowd of more than 75,000. England, meanwhile, will lean on their experience to get through a tough match in a hostile environment, with this their third successive appearance in the tournament's last four.

IN TWO PHOTOS:

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WHAT NEXT? England and Australia will face off for a place in the Women's World Cup final on Wednesday at Stadium Australia in Sydney. The winner will play in Sunday's final at the same venue, while the loser travels to Brisbane for the third-place play-off.