Emotional Sam Kerr pays heartwarming tribute to Matildas teammates after thrilling World Cup run comes to an end against England

An emotional Sam Kerr said her Australian side had inspired the hosts despite the crushing disappointment of a 3-1 defeat to England in the Women’s World Cup semi-final on Wednesday.

The Australian skipper and talisman striker scored a stunning goal to level the home side in front of 75,000 in Sydney before England pulled away late with two goals to set up a final against Spain.

The Matildas have one more game to go against Sweden on Saturday to decide who will finish third. Whatever happens, this is Australia’s best ever World Cup.

In addition, the team’s exploits to reach the last four for the first time have captivated Australia and gained legions of new fans.

Kerr, who missed a golden opportunity to equalize for the second time just a minute before Alessia Russo scored England’s third goal, said: “I can’t put all the blame on myself.

England qualified for the World Cup final on Wednesday by beating Australia 3-1

The Matildas will play for third place in the play-offs against Sweden in Brisbane on Saturday

“I think of all the things the team has done, and I have done, to be where we are today and to inspire a nation.

“It’s just really disappointing. But no matter what, I wouldn’t want to be on any other team. This is my team, my friends, my best friends, I love them dearly.’

The Matildas fell apart eight minutes after Kerr’s goal, Lauren Hemp putting England ahead again before Alessia Russo finished things off to make it 3-1 at Stadium Australia.

“She’s a winner and I’m glad she got the goal,” said Matildas coach Tony Gustavsson.

“We have to support her, she did everything she could to dig deep and the fact that she could play for 90 minutes (was huge)

“Who knows what it would have been like if she had been healthy?”

It was a brave decision by Gustavsson to choose Kerr, given that his side had managed to rise to the occasion without her.

The Chelsea striker missed the group stage with a calf injury before re-entering the quarter-final with 10 minutes against Denmark and then an hour or so against France.

Kerr scored a stunning equalizer for the Matildas with a superb try from 25 yards out, but missed two glorious chances to equalize again for Australia after England’s second goal

Alessia Russo scored England’s third goal immediately after Kerr’s miss to put the match to bed

But Gustavsson rolled the dice and the stage was set for Australia’s top goalscorer to hold on.

Kerr did her part and her inclusion naturally drew extra attention from England.

Alex Greenwood was booked after crashing into the Australian captain in the 10th minute and Jess Carter narrowly avoided kicking Kerr in the head as they battled for possession.

Apart from a chance from Katrina Gorry in the opening five minutes, for which Kerr was flagged for offside, Australia couldn’t get her into the areas to challenge England.

When it was time to act fast, they reused the game in the field or when they had to wait for support in central areas they crossed and hoped.

The Matildas thrive on snappy transitions, but they were much more pedestrian both before and after England’s Ella Toone scored the opener through a sloppy Australian defense in the 36th minute.

After a goal after an hour of play, Australia began to threaten and Gorry opened the Lionesses.

She played in Kerr and instead of slipping through the easy ball to Caitlin Foord, the Australian skipper engaged her clubmate Millie Bright before unleashing her shot past Mary Earps.

For eight minutes, the stadium began to believe that a meeting with Spain in Sunday’s final was possible.

Kerr grabbed a handful of chances, but England were clinical and Hemp and Russo buried their chances along with Matildas’ campaign.