England fans taunt Australians outside Sydney Opera House ahead of Women’s World Cup semi-final

Australia has been in a festive mood this summer, having already retained the Ashes and won the Netball World Cup at the expense of the old foe.

And the exploits of their footballers in the Women’s World Cup in recent weeks have further boosted a nation that enjoys its sporting rivalry with England.

For the English, the memories are still fresh of Alex Carey’s controversial stumping of Jonny Bairstow in the second Test at Lord’s, sparking jeers and chants of ‘Same old Aussies, always cheating’ for the rest of the series.

Today, England and Australia take on each other in a huge semi-final – kicking off at 11am UK time – which has seen an explosion of banter between the two nations.

The European champions are guaranteed a hostile welcome to a sold-out Stadium Australia as they attempt to end the Matildas’ dream of World Cup glory on home soil.

England fans with the supporters’ group ‘FreeLionesses’ gathered outside the Sydney Opera House today, joking that ‘there’s no rivalry, it’s not cricket’.

Others said the team would “bring it home” and “it’s definitely coming home,” referring to Baddiel, Skinner, and The Lightning Seeds’ song Three Lions.

It comes as the England team found themselves on the receiving end of a bizarre espionage controversy after a training session was photographed from a helicopter.

Meanwhile, tickets intended for England fans were snapped up by Australians after a unique Lionesses code for an allocation of 1,970 was leaked on social media.

A notice on the Football Association’s website stated that the access code ‘Lioness’ was exclusive to England fans.

But several Australian supporters managed to buy tickets in their opponents’ section of the stadium and bragged about wearing ‘Matildas’ shirts.

The European champions take on the Matildas in Sydney’s sold-out Stadium Australia, where most of the 75,000 in attendance will support the co-hosts.

The winner of today’s match will take on Spain for the trophy this Sunday at 11am UK time after beating Sweden 2-1 yesterday to book their trip to the final.

Outside the Sydney Opera House, an English fan told BBC Breakfast today: “We’re certainly outnumbered in terms of fans, but I don’t think that’s going to stop us tonight, we’ll be ready.”

Another said: ‘There’s no rivalry, it’s not cricket, we’re going to win, we’re going to bring it home, 100 per cent.’

A third added, “I’m buzzing, we’re ready to put on a show and silence the country.” And a fourth said, ‘We can win it.’

In London today, enthusiastic Australian football fans from the UK turned out in droves to cheer on their team.

More than two hours before kick-off this morning, more than 100 fans lined up outside the Vauxhall Beer Garden – without seeing an English fan.

Many wore the team’s bright yellow colors while others draped themselves in the national flag.

Jessica Rimmington traveled from her home in Newcastle-upon-Tyne with her 10-year-old daughter Ivy to watch the match with other fans.

Ivy had painted her face with the national flag and was holding two cuddly toys: a kangaroo and a crocodile.

Ms Rimmington, who has lived in the UK for five years, said: ‘We’ve come a long way to be here but wanted to be with other Oz fans. It will be a special day.’

Ivy added: ‘We’re going to win. I hope the Matildas win.’

Australian TV camera crews broadcast live with a fan saying to the reporter, ‘What’s not to like? Footy and a beer at 9 o’clock.’

Casey Findlay and Tim Hearn said they have dual citizenship with Australian and English passports, but grew up in Australia and support the Matildas.

Casey said, “I grew up going to their games when there were only 1,000 people in the ground. It will be great to see so many people in the stadium watching.

“We will win because of the energy and support that will come to the team.”

Sharon Holmes lined up holding an inflatable kangaroo and wearing an Aussie team jersey.

She is visiting relatives in Newbury, Berkshire, and said she couldn’t resist watching the game.

“It’s nice to be here among so many people who all want the same thing: a victory for Matildas.”

The majority of those waiting for the Vauxhall Beer Garden to open were women.

It comes after the Australian Daily Telegraph sent a plane to capture footage of the Lionesses’ session behind closed doors at their training base as they finalized plans for today’s game.

Published under the headline ‘Elf Poms against a nation: Welcome to the jungle, Lionesses’, the photos show England national coach Sarina Wiegman and her staff testing the players ahead of the much-anticipated game.

The newspaper wrote: ‘If the Lionesses of England thought they would happily fly under the radar into the World Cup semi-finals, they would be in for a rude shock.

“We’ve sent the helicopter to see how the ancient foe is preparing…Welcome to the jungle, lionesses, we’re having fun and games.”

It added: ‘It may not be in the spirit of football, but after last month’s Ashes men’s cricket series we will let England’s moral arbiters judge what is and what is not acceptable in the sporting world.’

The Football Association declined to comment on the incident.